The KC-390 Millennium will land in South Africa for the first time. A Embraer will demonstrate the military transport aircraft to the South African Air Force (SAAF) later this month. 

The tactical freighter is expected to arrive at Waterkloof air base, near the capital Pretoria, this Friday (24). There he will be presented to authorities such as the Minister of Defense, Thandi Modise, the commander of the National Defense Forces, General Rudzani Maphwanya, and the commander of the SAAF, General Wiseman Mbambo, as well as representatives from other sectors of the government. 

As noted by the South African portal defenseWEB, citing the SAAF itself, the demonstration scheduled for this week comes after a visit carried out in April this year, where a demonstration of the KC-390 in South Africa was discussed.

In this way, it is possible to affirm that Pretoria is interested in the C-390. Embraer sees Africa as one of Millennium's biggest sources of customers, projecting the need for 105 aircraft of the type on the continent over the next 20 years. 

In addition to the BRICS partnership, Brazil and South Africa also have a history of developing weapons together. The most notable case is the short-range A-Darter missile, which was to be used on the F-39 Gripen but was canceled due to lack of resources. The Brazilian Air Force also evaluated the medium-range R-Darter, but did not acquire the missile. 

On the other hand, the South African armed forces have been facing a serious crisis, to the point that the SAAF fleet is almost entirely on the floor. Not having the resources to maintain its own planes, it is strange to imagine South Africa purchasing new models, at least in the short term. 

Either way, the need exists. Without enough aircraft, the air force spends millions to charter other planes to rotate troops and equipment in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, notes the defenseWEB. The country has already allocated 1 billion rand ($54.4 million) to refurbish its C-130B Hercules, but these are still old planes and will soon need replacements. 

Multirole, the C-390 can perform missions of transporting troops and cargo, search and rescue, firefighting, in-flight refueling, aeromedical evacuation and other activities. The aircraft is also certified to operate fully from dirt and gravel runways. 

The C-390 has won a series of contracts. Abroad, there are already 5 clients: 

• Portugal, with five aircraft ordered and one already in operation;
• Hungary, with two aircraft ordered; 
• Netherlands, with five aircraft ordered; 
• Austria, with two aircraft ordered in partnership with the Netherlands; 
• Czech Republic, with two ordered. 

The Brazilian Air Force, the launch customer, acquired 19 aircraft, six of which are already in operation with two squadrons. In addition to the signed purchases, Embraer negotiates with several other countries, including India, the Czech Republic, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.