Brazil’s Embraer signs deal with Portugal firms

Brazil’s top aircraft maker Embraer said Wednesday it signed a partnership deal with two Portuguese companies under which they will contribute to its KC-390 military transport aircraft program.

The deal links Embraer’s defense and security arm with Industria Aeronautica de Portugal and Empresa de Engenharia Aeronautica (EEA).

EEA is to develop the engineering project for KC-390’s components, which will be manufactured by OGMA, an Embraer subsidiary.

“Portugal’s participation in the KC-390 program strengthens our position in the European defense market,” said Luiz Carlos Aguiar, president of Embraer Defense and Security.

The Embraer KC-390, a medium-size, twin-engine jet-powered military transport aircraft under development, will be the heaviest made by Embraer.

It will be able to transport up to 23 tons of cargo, including wheeled armored vehicles.

Embraer said the deal underscored Portugal’s commitment to buying KC-390 planes and followed a declaration of intent signed by the Brazilian and Portuguese defense ministries in September 2010.

Embraer is the world’s third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, behind American Boeing and Europe’s Airbus.

In 2010, it sold 101 commercial aircraft and 145 executive jets.