The Dutch Ministry of Defense signed the contract in the last days for the acquisition of nine C-390 "Millennium" aircraft during a ceremony at the "Farnborough Airshow" (July 22-26, in UK). As part of the project ‘Replacement of Tactical Airlift Capacity’, the contract is a joint purchase, in cooperation with Austria – five aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Air Force and four ones for the Austrian Air Force.

With this joint order, both countries aim at increasing their ability to rapidly deploy or evacuate equipment and personnel worldwide, even under difficult operational conditions. The joint purchase will also allow both Nations to cooperate and benefit from synergies in areas like training, logistics and future growth of the platform, together with the other C-390 operators in NATO Nations. 

Since entering operation with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019 and the Portuguese Air Force in 2023, the model has proven its capacity, reliability, and performance. The current fleet of aircraft in operation has accumulated more than 13,000 flight hours. 

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 capable of performing a wide range of missions such as transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways. The aircraft configured with air-to-air refueling equipment, with the designation KC-390, can operate both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case also by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.