Embraer completes KC-390 troop evacuation tests.

Embraer successfully completed the troop unloading, evacuation by hatch and evacuation tests through the front and rear doors of the KC-390 multi-mission medium airlift recently held at Brasília Air Force Base, in Brazil, the aircraft manufacturer announced on November 21, 2018.

Embraer's KC-390 multi-mission medium airlift
(Credit: Embraer)

The tests complied with the requirements for achieving the Final Operational Capability (FOC), which is the subject of the final military certification of the aircraft, due to occur in the last quarter of 2019. The tests were supported by the Brazilian Air Force as well as the Brazilian Army and involved approximately 370 military personnel.

“By completing this important stage of the testing campaign toward final military certification with excellence, the KC-390 demonstrates compliance with the industry's most stringent operating and safety standards,” said Walter Pinto Junior, vice-president of the KC-390 Program.

Embraer KC-390 is a tactical airlift designed to set new standards in its category while presenting the lowest life-cycle cost of the market. It can perform a variety of missions such as cargo and troop transport, troop and cargo air delivery, aerial refueling, search and rescue and forest fire fighting.

The KC-390 is a tactical transport aircraft developed to establish new standards in its category while presenting the lowest life cycle cost on the market. It is capable of carrying out various missions, such as transporting cargo, troops or paratroopers, aerial refueling, in addition to supporting humanitarian missions, search and rescue missions, medical evacuation and aerial firefighting. The KC-390 can transport up to 26 metric tons of cargo at a maximum speed of 470 knots (870 km/h), as well as operating in hostile environments, including unprepared or damaged runways.

This is a Brazilian Air Force (FAB, in Portuguese) owned project, which hired Embraer in 2009 to develop the aircraft. The KC-390 test campaign is advancing in an extremely satisfactory way, meeting all aircraft requirements and validating all performance and capability objectives determined through the use of advanced engineering tools. Since the beginning of the flight test campaign, in October 2015, the KC-390 prototypes have demonstrated high rates of availability, accumulating more than 1,200 flight hours.