When Militär Aktuell was in Farnborough in July on the occasion of the signing of the contract for nine Embraer C-390Ms for the Netherlands and Austria on board during a demonstration flight, the Embraer Embraer-managers around President and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto mentioned that the factory aircraft would fly to Mexico after the show. Indeed, on July 29 – after a three-day stopover to “show off” in Ireland – it arrived at Mexico’s Santa Lucia Air Force Base for the demonstration. And apparently the Brazilian manufacturer’s efforts there were successful, as Mexico could become one of the next customers for the transport aircraft.
This autumn, the corresponding reports and rumors intensified once again. This is also supported by the fact that Francisco Gomes Neto visited Mexico on September 30 for the inauguration of the new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, where he also took part in the Mexican-Brazilian Business Forum. There, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mexican Aerospace Association to “identify new business opportunities and areas of interest for the potential development of joint defense projects, including possible collaboration with the country’s defense cluster, with the support of the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs,” according to an official statement from the company.
Behind the agreement, of course, is the Mexican Air Force’s interest in the C-390 Millennium (C-390M) airlifter as a replacement for its two old C-130Ks and a civilian L-100-30. With a view to border surveillance and “anti-narco” missions, the country is also said to be interested in the A-29 Super Tucano Advanced light combat aircraft and trainer (-> Midlife upgrade for A29 Super Tucano).
Originally, Mexico wanted to replace the new C-130J Super Hercules from Lockheed Martin then they also flirted with the Airbus A400M (-> The A400M continues to struggle with problems). In the meantime, the good relations between the governments of Mexico and Brazil – which also have similar political views – are likely to swing the pendulum in the direction of Embraer. This is also supported by the fact that the new state-owned airline Mexicana de Aviación, which will be established in 2023, only ordered a total of 20 EMB-190E2 airliners from Embraer in June, which are to be delivered from 2025. Embraer has also been present in Mexico for more than 40 years, with more than 100 aircraft produced by the Brazilian manufacturer currently flying for airlines, law enforcement and defense agencies in the country.
CEO Francisco Gomes Neto did not reveal in a published statement how many transport aircraft could be involved in the case, but given the size of the existing fleet mentioned above, it can probably be assumed that it is a single-digit number. “We are very pleased to announce this agreement,” says Gomes Neto. “In addition to promoting new business and greater integration between the two countries, this agreement represents a great opportunity for strategic cooperation between Embraer and the Mexican aviation industry.”
Whether a sale will actually take place, and if so, how many units are involved, could possibly be revealed soon. If Brazilian colleagues are to be believed, a contract could be signed at the FAMEX trade fair (April 23 to 26, 2025).
In addition to Austria and the Netherlands, the Czech Republic (-> report) and Sweden (-> report) opted for the transport aircraft.
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