UAE KC/C-390 order and options opens door to further Middle East sales, Embraer says

With the UAE recently signing for 10 KC/C-390 Millennium airlifters with the option for 10 more, Embraer now sees other regional opportunities to secure further sales. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

The sale to the United Arab Emirates of 10 Embraer KC/C-390 Millennium transport aircraft with the option for 10 more could help the manufacturer secure additional regional sales of the airlifter.

Speaking at the company's Q1 2026 earnings call on 8 May, President and CEO of Embraer Francisco Gomes Neto said that this first sale of theKC/C-390 into the Middle East provides an opportunity to secure further regional orders, especially in relation to the 10 optional airframes that could be diverted to other neighbouring countries in the same way as recent orders placed for European countries.

“I can't begin to tell you how happy we are with this [UAE KC/C-390] order – the first in the Middle East. It opens an opportunity for us to extend new deals in the neighbourhood. Yes, we see an opportunity for new sales – the 10 options will help us do that in the same way as with Portugal and the Netherlands,” Gomes Neto said, adding, “We are talking to other [potential regional] customers at this time.”

The UAE's Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement placed its order with Embraer for 10 + 10 KC/C-390 airlifters for the UAE Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD) on 5 May. With 10 aircraft slated for the UAE AFAD, the optional 10 could be taken up by the service also, or they might instead be taken up by one or more regional customers. With annual production at six airframes, Embraer CFO Felipe Santana said that the goal is to get it to 10 airframes by the end of the decade.