Sweden has chosen the Embraer C-390 Millennium as the country’s new tactical transport aircraft, while Brazil intends to buy more Gripen fighters from Swedish defense company Saab, the European country’s government said.
The letter of intent signed on Saturday comes after long negotiations between the countries for Brazil to increase its Gripen orders and Sweden to use the Embraer plane as a replacement for its aging fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130s.
Brazil signed a contract in 2010 with Saab to buy 36 JAS 39 Gripen fighters. It now plans to extend the contract by 25%, the Swedish government said.
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In return, Sweden selected the Embraer C-390 Millennium as its new military cargo aircraft and will now begin the procurement process.
“They carried out a very in-depth analysis process, evaluating several other competitors. They interacted with current C-390 operators and current C-390 family customers. So we are super happy,” said the president of Embraer’s defense division, Bosco da Costa Junior, in an interview with Reuters.
The Nordic country did not immediately reveal how many C-390s it will buy or when a firm order will be placed. Costa said Sweden has some urgency and hopes it will begin adding the aircraft “as soon as possible.”
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Sweden is the sixth European nation to select the Embraer aircraft, joining fellow NATO members the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as Austria, which is not a NATO member. Brazil and South Korea also purchased the C-390.
The letter of intent was signed by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and his Brazilian counterpart José Múcio in Natal, where Brazil organized a multinational operational training exercise.
Reuters reported in 2023 that Brazil was considering purchasing more Gripen fighters and that Múcio had traveled to Sweden to negotiate a deal that would also include the European nation’s purchase of the C-390.
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“Of course this is very good news for Saab and Sweden. We know that Brazil is very happy with the JAS as its fighter jet. We now hope to continue discussions with Brazil on new orders,” said a Saab spokesperson, adding that no contract has been signed.
Saab and Embraer have had a joint production line for Gripens in Brazil since last year. Swedish Radio reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that Colombia will purchase a fleet of JAS Gripen fighter aircraft.
