The Air Forces of Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands presented a new air show at the Dubai Airshow took an important step towards closer cooperation in the field of air transport. The three nations signed an agreement to work together on training, maintenance and knowledge sharing related to the Embraer C-390M.
At the Farnborough Air Show in the summer of 2024, Austria and the Netherlands had already joint procurement of a total of nine C-390Ms – four for the Austrian Armed Forcesfive for the Dutch Air Force. Recently Sweden has also recently joined the program and ordered four more machines. This brings the joint fleet to 13 aircraft – a clear advantage for standardization, logistical synergies and operational efficiency.
“As all three countries are procuring the same aircraft, there are valuable opportunities for smarter cooperation,” said Austria’s Air Chief Major General Gerfried Promberger on Linkedin. He added: “Closer coordination in training and maintenance will enable us to operate the C-390 more efficiently, effectively and in a future-proof manner.”
In order to consolidate this cooperation, the Air Chiefs of the three countries intend to meet annually with immediate effect and jointly “steer further development”, according to Promberger, for whom the cooperation represents “an important step towards a stronger, more uniform and more efficient European air transport capability”.
Incidentally, construction of the first Austrian aircraft began at the beginning of the year, The fuselage and wings are to be “married” this year. The van is due to be completed in around a year. This is followed by extensive test and acceptance flights before the aircraft is transferred to the Netherlands for country-specific equipment customization. A few days ago the construction of the first Dutch machine began.
Here for more news about the Dutch armed forces, here to more current news about the Swedish Armed Forces and here to further news about the Austrian Armed Forces.
