The first C-390 "Millennium" of the Hungarian Air Force has successfully completed its maiden flight yesterday in Gavião Peixoto. Embraer Defense & Security team flew the aircraft for approximately 4 hours, carrying out a complete assessment of the aircraft, which will now undergo a test campaign ahead of the entry into service with the Hungarian Air Force.

 In November 2020, the Hungarian government signed a contract with Embraer to acquire two C-390s. The Hungarian Defence Forces’ aircraft will be the first in the world to have an Intensive Care Unit in its configuration, an essential resource for carrying out humanitarian missions.

Hungary is the third country to have chosen this multi-mission model, after Brazil and Portugal. The Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, and South Korea have also selected it. 

The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (470 knots) and farther, being able to carry out a wide range of missions (transporting and launching cargo and troops, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions), even operating on unpaved runways, on surfaces such as compacted earth and gravel. The aircraft configured for aerial refuelling, with the designation KC-390, has already proven its capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.

Since entering service with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, and more recently with the Portuguese Air Force in 2023, the current fleet of aircraft in operation has accumulated more than 11,500 flight hours.