Lithuania has chosen Embraer’s C-390 Millennium Transport Aircraft to strengthen its military readiness

Authors Benoit Denet & Martin Gillet.

Paris, Le Bourget June 18, 2025 – The Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania has announced that the Embraer C-390 Millennium has been chosen as the country’s next-generation military transport aircraft.

 This decision marks a significant step in enhancing Lithuania’s operational readiness and interoperability within NATO countries (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and paves the way for the acquisition process according to national legal procedures and legislation.

 “We have carefully studied the various types of military transport aircraft available on the market, and our assessment has clearly shown that the C-390 Millennium is the most suitable platform to meet our national military operational requirements. Therefore, Lithuania has chosen Embraer Company for further negotiations and expects to finalise the acquisition contract in the coming months,” said  Loreta Maskaliovien,  Vice Minister of National Defence of Lithuania.

 “We are honoured to have been selected by the Lithuanian authorities. This selection reflects Embraer’s commitment to strengthening defence capabilities in Europe. In this regard, the C-390, with its versatility, performance, and NATO interoperability, is the ideal platform — readily available to carry out the most demanding missions,” said Bosco Da Costa Junior, President & CEO of Embraer Defence & Security.

 The C-390 Millennium is a next-generation aircraft designed to operate in austere environments and under demanding conditions, offering superior speed, payload capacity, and mission flexibility.

 Its selection aligns Lithuania with a growing number of European and NATO allies, including Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia, who have also chosen the C-390 to modernise their air forces. By adopting the C-390 Millennium, Lithuania will significantly enhance its operational capabilities while benefiting from the ecosystem and synergies present in Europe in terms of support and training.

 Since entering operation with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, the Portuguese Air Force in 2023 and, most recently, with the Hungarian Air Force in 2024, the C-390 Millennium has proven its capability, reliability, and performance. The current fleet in operation has demonstrated a mission capability rate of 93% and mission completion rates above 99%.

 The C-390 Millennium 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, such as packed earth, soil and gravel. The aircraft may be configured with air-to-air refuelling equipment, with the designation C-390, has already proven its aerial refuelling capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case by receiving fuel from another C-390 using pods installed under the wings.

PERFORMANCE

The ability to project joint forces over great distances is essential to every military. The C-390 MILLENNIUM offers unrivalled strategic, operational and tactical logistic support with unmatched mobility, speed and range, anywhere in the world.

Cruising at 0.80 Mach and moving up to 26 metric tonnes (57,000 lb), the C-390 MILLENNIUM delivers more payload faster than any aeroplane in the tactical airlifter market.

An unobstructed, continuous width cargo compartment with a volume of 169 m3 (5,970 ft3) was optimised to provide extra room for over and outsize cargo, accommodating combinations of vehicles, cargo on pallets, troops, medical patients and auxiliary fuel tanks, among other items. To facilitate the boarding of taller vehicles, the C-390 MILLENNIUM is equipped with a long cargo ramp, which reduces the cargo loading/unloading angle. The aircraft also features hydraulic stabiliser struts and a cargo winch to minimise time on the ground.

The C-390 MILLENNIUM aerial delivery system provides remote and automatic release of cargo in flight at low and high altitudes. The air drop operations can be held by parachute extraction or gravity cargo dropping.  The Continuous Computational Drop Point Calculation Software (CCDP) is integrated into the avionics system and, in combination with the precise navigation delivered by the Fly-by-Wire system, it calculates the air release point with exceptional precision, providing high mission effectiveness.

 Maximum Payload (Concentrated) 26 metric tonnes / 57,320 lb

 Maximum Payload (Distributed) 23 metric tonnes / 50,706 lb

 Fuel Capacity (wing tanks, usable) 23.9 metric tonnes / 52,690 lb

 Maximum Cruise Speed 470 KTAS/Mach 0.80

 Altitude Ceiling 36,000 ft

 Cabin altitude (at max ceiling) 8,000 ft

 Range with 26 metric tonnes (57,320 lb) 1,080 nm

 Range with 23 metric tonnes (50,700 lb) 1,470 nm

 Ferry Range 3,370 nm

 Ferry Range with internal tanks 4,570 nm

 Takeoff Dist (CFL, SL, ISA, 500 nm, payload 23 metric tonnes) 1,524 m 5,000 ft

 Takeoff Dist (CFL, SL, ISA, 500 nm, payload 16 metric tonnes) 1,165 m 3,820 ft

 Vref with 25 klb of useful load 116 KCAS

 Normal Landing Dist (SL, ISA, 26 metric tonnes) 1,000 m 3,280 ft