The Swedish Flygvapnet will replace its C-130Hs with four C-390 Millennium airlifters bought through a joint procurement with Austria and the Netherlands.
The Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) and the Brazilian defense major Embraer signed a contract for four C-390 Millennium airlifters on Oct. 6, 2025, to be delivered by 2027. Sweden thus becomes the eighth country in Europe and ninth country overall to operate Embraer’s cargo aircraft.
The Swedish defence material agency Forsvarsmakten, Defence Minister Pål Jonson and Embraer specified that this contract is part of a joint procurement with the Netherlands and Austria. An option to purchase seven more aircraft is also present.
This procurement “reduces both the price and the delivery time,” with Embraer adding that it “paves the way for future acquisitions by other European nations.” The Netherlands and Austria were the first two NATO members to enter into a strategic partnership and already jointly ordered nine C-390s in 2024.
The signing ceremony at Uppsala Air Base, Sweden, took place in the presence of a Força Aérea Portuguesa (Portuguese Air Force) C-390. The Flygvapnet said this was a “long awaited step in the process to replace the current transport aircraft 84 Hercules,” referring to the local designation of the C-130H, the Tp84 Hercules.
The Flygvapnet currently operates five C-130Hs (Tp84) and one KC-130H (Tp84T). The oldest aircraft,which were bought from the U.S. in the 1960s, were retired ten years ago.
NEWS | Sweden orders four Embraer C-390 Millennium as part of joint European procurement; contract includes seven additional options paving the way for future acquisitions. Read full news: https://t.co/vjisOrkgcv pic.twitter.com/IyRmHNVc0r
— Embraer (@embraer) October 6, 2025
The actual contract follows the selection of the C-390 by Stockholm in November 2024, with a Letter of Intents (LOI) that defense minister Pål Jonson signed in Brazil. Lithuania also inked a deal with Embraer for three aircraft on Jun. 19, 2025, to supplement its fleet of three C-27J Spartans.
The C-390 Millenium is already used by Brazil (since 2019), Portugal (2023) and, most recently, the Hungarian Air Force (in 2024). Other future European operators, besides the Netherlands and Austria, are the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
C-390 growing importance
Forsvarsmakten said that the C-390 will “meet the Air Force’s operational needs for a long-term tactical transport capability, while strengthening the Armed Forces’ ability to rapidly transport personnel and materiel both nationally and internationally.” The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Pål Jonson, Air Force Maj. Gen. Chief Jonas Wikman, FMV Secretary General Mikael Granholm, Dutch State Secretary Gijs Tuinman, along with representatives from other C-390 operators Brazil, Hungary, Czech Republic, Portugal, Austria and the Netherlands.
“This important milestone for defense in Europe is part of a broader trilateral partnership between Austria, Sweden, and the Netherlands, aimed at fostering joint procurement, interoperability, and long-term cooperation around the C-390 Millennium platform,” Embraer said in its statement. “The seven options signed under this framework reflect growing European interest in this next generation aircraft and a shared commitment to modernizing tactical airlift capabilities across the continent.”
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Choosing the C-390 Millennium allows Sweden to “enhance its operational capabilities and interoperability while benefiting from European synergies in training and lifecycle support,” says the manufacturer. President and CEO of Embraer Defense and Security Bosco da Costa Junior said the contract reinforces the C-390’s “growing reputation as the new standard for tactical airlift in Europe and among NATO nations.”
The C-390 can carry a payload of 26 tons, with the Flygvapnet putting its passenger capacity at 80 persons and classifying it as a “medium distance tactical transport aircraft.” It can touch speeds of 470 knots and can conduct a wide range of missions, including “transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways, such as packed earth, soil and gravel.”
Sverige signerade idag kontrakt på fyra nya militära transportflygplan av modellen C-390 till ett värde av ca 8 miljarder. Det är en viktig investering som ersätter åldrande materiel och stärker vår förmåga att snabbt agera vid kris, både nationellt och internationellt. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/5XUBriiB60
— Pål Jonson (@PlJonson) October 6, 2025
The aircraft’s air-to-air refueling configuration, designated the KC-390, has “already proven its aerial refueling capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings,” says the company. It is unclear if Sweden is also acquiring the air-to-air refueling equipment.
Much needed joint capability for Sweden and Europe
Minister for Defence of Sweden Pål Jonson said the investment in the C-390 “replaces aging equipment and strengthens our ability to act quickly in a crisis, both nationally and internationally.” The decision to purchase the aircraft “together with the Netherlands and Austria […] reduces both price and delivery time” and “gives Swedish taxpayers more defense for their money – and a stronger Sweden.”
“It is a much-needed upgrade for our air force. Within 2-3 years, we will now have a highly modern and capable platform that can handle more missions than our current Hercules aircraft,” Jonson said on X. The Forsvarsmakten statement quoted the Flygvapnet chief Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, who “emphasized that Swedish Air Force history was written today and that the C-390 is a welcome contribution to the Swedish Air Force.”
🇸🇪 Försvarsmakten får fyra nya transportflyg av typen C-390. Idag genomfördes en signeringsceremoni på flygbasen i Uppsala. https://t.co/JNBHoltbAv
— Flygvapnet (@flygvapnet) October 6, 2025
“This is an important day, a milestone and a stepping stone into the future. For us, this marks a beginning in many ways a phase of change within the Air Force where we are adapting to new challenges,” said Wikman. FMV’s secretary general Mikael Granholm also said how joint procurement with Austria and the Netherlands helps facing “challenges together and collaborate on them,” besides checking delivery deadlines and costs.
The Netherlands’s Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel Gijs Tuinman and the Austrian Armed Forces’s National Armaments Director Harald Vodosek welcomed Sweden into their partnership. Both promised to “make the most” of the C-390 to “strengthen security across Europe” and “set new standards of efficiency and interoperability for our most demanding missions.”
“Out the door, 45° to the sky, and gravity does the rest.” 🌍✈️
During Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2025, 🇭🇺paratroopers from the Parachute Squadron of the HDF Special Operations Command leap from the KC-390, honing covert insertion skills where speed & surprise are everything. 🪂… pic.twitter.com/1qpdUDMG0P
— NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum – JFCBS (@NATOJFCBS) September 18, 2025
Embraer says the current global fleet of C-390s has a mission capability rate of 93% and mission completion rates above 99%. The Hungarian Air Force, which operates two KC-390s, had one of the aircraft participate in Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2025 late in September, releasing paratroopers from the Parachute Squadron of the HDF Special Operations Command.
