Fórum Defesa Brasil

Denel exploring C-390 opportunity
Written by defenceWeb editor Leon Engelbrecht
Wednesday, 04 February 2009



Denel Saab Aerostructures (DSA) says it is speaking to Brazilian planemaker Embraer about participation in its C-390 military transport aircraft programme.

But DSA CEO Lana Kinley says the talk is “nothing new” and has not yet resulted in anything concrete, partly as the C-390 programme itself has not yet graduated from the drawing board.

"We have no formal contractual relationship with Embraer,” she says, “Embraer has not specified their supplier arrangements for the C-390 yet.

“With the delay and expense of the Airbus A400M, as well as the cost of the Boeing C-17 and Lockheed Martin C-130J, there just may be more opportunities for Embraer to sell the C-390 and with that, an increase in participation for the SA aerospace industry,” Kinley adds.

"We are very interested in having Embraer as a customer and in being a risk-sharing partner on the C-390. We are already a risk-sharing partner on the Airbus Military A400M."

She was speaking after a new flurry of reporting on the aircraft prompted by a press release issued in the United States by Hitco Carbon Composites that implied that it and DSA had become partners in the C-390 project.

The release, which quotes Kinley, states that Hitco “has entered into a long-term strategic agreement with DSA … to collaborate in composite components manufacturing for the ... C-390.

DSA “and Hitco intend to produce composite components, such as the Aft Fuselage, ensuring that the aircraft meets established performance goals within aircraft weight targets. Enhanced, automated manufacturing solutions will be offered by these two companies to maximize customer value and affordability”.

The statement quotes Kinley as saying DSA is “pleased to have Hitco on board offering advanced manufacturing solutions for the Embraer C-390 program. Like them, we have invested in major plant upgrades and capital equipment. By entering into this relationship, we offer a great value-add to our customers."

Kinley says the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding some time ago and adds there has been no new development regarding the aircraft in recent months.

“If they launch the C-390 we’d like to be a preferred a supplier. But we’d like to be a preferred supplier to everyone. That’s not news.”

It is not clear why Hitco released the statement this week but it might relate to positioning ahead of an upcoming aviation trade show.

The wikipedia describes the C-390 as a medium-sized twin-engined jet-powered military transport.

It will be the heaviest aircraft developed by the Latin American firm to date and is projected to be able to carry up to 19 metric tons of cargo, including wheeled armored vehicles.

Size-wise it is an aircraft is positioned between the twin-turboprop C-27J Spartan, with an 11.5mt payload and the C-130J Hercules with a 21.7mt payload. The aircraft will incorporate many of the technological solutions of the Embraer E-Jets series.

Embraer has said it sees a market for about 695 aircraft in this class in the next decade.

gaitero escreveu:Cada dia me surpreendo mais com este C-390 '' Tupiniquim''

"We are on the verge of announcing this programme as soon as we finish the negotiations with the Brazilian air force," says Sergio Bellato Alves, Embraer vice-president for the Asian defence market. Speaking at the Aero India 2009 airshow in Bangalore, he says that the launch decision could come "in a matter of weeks" subject to an order being agreed with Brazil.

cicloneprojekt escreveu:

gaitero escreveu:Cada dia me surpreendo mais com este C-390 '' Tupiniquim''

Para terminar de ficar bonito , só precisa colocar winglets na ponta das asas e mudar o trem de pouso principal para algo no estilo antonov, com barras de torção para cada truque de rodas.

henriquejr escreveu:

cicloneprojekt escreveu: Para terminar de ficar bonito , só precisa colocar winglets na ponta das asas e mudar o trem de pouso principal para algo no estilo antonov, com barras de torção para cada truque de rodas.

A Embraer vem adotando os winglets em praticamente todos os seus produtos, e já foi comprovada a eficiência deste sistema com relação a economia de combustível, creio que a versão final do C-390 deve fazer uso deste equipamento.

SA aerospace company says it is not yet a partner on military-transport project

By: Keith Campbell
13th February 2009

Picture by: Embraer

PARTLY SOUTH AFRICAN? A computer-generated image of an Embraer C-390 in Brazilian markings


South African aerospace company Denel Saab Aerostructures, part of the State-owned Denel defence industrial group (with a minority stake held by Sweden's Saab) has re-confirmed its interest in participating in the Embraer C-390 military transport aircraft project (see Engineering News January 15, 2008).

"We are very interested in having Embraer as a customer, and in being a risk-sharing partner on the C-390," affirms Denel Saab Aerostructures CEO Lana Kinley. "We are already a risk-sharing partner on the Airbus Military A400M."

Reports that the company is already a partner in the C-390 project are, however, premature. "We have no formal contractual relationship with Embraer yet," she cautions. "Embraer has not specified their supplier arrangements for the C-390 yet."

Embraer, a Brazilian company, is currently the world's third- or fourth-biggest manufacturer of commercial jets, and the C-390 is it latest project. The company has not yet publicly stated that it is, in fact, going to go ahead with the new aircraft, but it is known to have had lots of discussions with the Brazilian Air Force - which have led to significant revisions in the design of the C-390, which will give it a greater cargo capacity than originally projected - and with potential partners, including Denel Saab Aerostructures.

A press release issued at the end of last month in Los Angeles, California, by US enterprise Hitco Carbon Composites, implied that it and Denel Saab Aerostructures had become partners in the C-390 project. The American company announced that it had entered into a long-term strategic agreement with Denel Saab Aerostructures, "to collaborate in composite components manufacturing for the Embraer C-390 military transport aircraft".

The two companies planed to manufacture composite components "such as the aft fuselage", which would enable the aircraft to achieve its performance objectives and weight targets. They would both provide "enhanced, automated manufacturing solutions ... to maximise customer value and affordability".

Hitco President Peter Hoffman asserted that the two companies together would "offer ‘best value' because of our unique combination of attributes including: time to market, schedule adherence, quality, and reduced risk". The US company would use its new automated fibre placement machine to produce aerostructural parts with a complex curvature.

Hitco senior vice-president: sales and marketing, Mark Kokosinski, subsequently told British journal Flight International that his company would supply an-as-yet undetermined quantity of composite structures to Denel Saab Aerostructures in South Africa, which would be used to make the aft fuselage and tail cone of the aircraft. Systems installation would take place in South Africa and the completed structures would then be transported to Embraer's final assembly line in Brazil.

If the programme does, indeed, go ahead, and if Denel Saab Aerostructures is one of the partners, then the South African company is expected to benefit from its experiences in designing, developing and manufacturing composite aerostructures for Europe's troubled A400M military transport aircraft programme.

The C-390 will be smaller than the A400M. While the European airlifter will be powered by four turboprop engines, the C-390 will have two turbofans. The Brazilian aircraft's internal fuselage width will be 3,2 m, as against the A400M's 4,0 m. The C-390's maximum payload will be around 19 t, the A400M's will be around 37 t.

The two aircraft are thus not rivals, being aimed at different market segments. Embraer hopes that the C-390 will win some of the market to replace first-generation Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transports, and other aircraft in the same category, aged 25 or more years. There are 695 such aircraft currently being operated by 77 countries - excluding the US, Russia, and Ukraine. The C-390's main rival will be Lockheed Martin's new-generation C-130J Hercules.

It is expected, but not confirmed, that the C-390 will be formally launched in the near future, almost certainly with an order from the Brazilian Air Force, probably for some 20 aircraft.

Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu

Slip Junior escreveu:DATE:11/02/09
SOURCE:Flight International
AERO INDIA: Embraer nears C-390 launch but rules out India sale
By Andrew Doyle

Embraer is poised to launch its proposed C-390 military airlifter but is effectively shut out of the Indian market while the rival Indo-Russian Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) project remains alive.

"We are on the verge of announcing this programme as soon as we finish the negotiations with the Brazilian air force," says Sergio Bellato Alves, Embraer vice-president for the Asian defence market. Speaking at the Aero India 2009 airshow in Bangalore, he says that the launch decision could come "in a matter of weeks" subject to an order being agreed with Brazil.

"We believe that now we have, if not the final configuration, at least we are approaching it," says Bellato. "We are in negotiations with the Brazilian air force to jump-start this programme. We believe that it will be happening pretty soon."

However, New Delhi has indicated that it is not interested in co-operating on the C-390 as long as the rival MTA continues to progress towards launch.

The MTA, "looks to me more or less in the same category [as the C-390], so we will be competing soon", says Bellato.

Supplier selections for the C-390 will "probably happen in a few months. Maybe at the end of this year we can start to talk to possible suppliers," he adds.

Meanwhile Embraer aims to secure civil certification for the C-390 under US FAA Part 25 regulations.

"We know that it will be a headache in the future to get the certification, but we believe, based on our experience with commercial jets, that it will pay off," says Bellato.

"This will allow companies like FedEx and DHL to use this aircraft to fly cargo around the world. Otherwise they could not.

Abraços

Russia, India may form military transport planes JV in 2-3 months
10:41 | 12/ 02/ 2009

Print version

BANGALORE (India), February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and India could set up a joint venture to produce medium-lift military transport planes in the next two or three months, the United Aircraft Corporation chief executive said on Thursday.

"It will take a couple of months, some two or three months, to form a joint venture," Alexei Fyodorov said.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), based in Bangalore, is expected to be the Indian partner in the project. The Russian partner "will be a company from a United Aircraft Corporation cargo-carrying division," Fyodorov said.

The planes will be based on the Ilyushin aircraft. The project is evaluated at $600 million, with Russia and India to invest $300 million each. Russia is relying on the planes to replace its ageing medium-lift category fleet.

India and Russia plan to contract 45 and 100 such planes, respectively, Fyodorov said.

The countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development of planes of this category for Russia and India's air forces in late 2007.

Santiago escreveu:Aero India: Embraer reveals C-390 3-view, cockpit, design req's
By Stephen Trimble on February 12, 2009 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Flight's Andrew Doyle is in Bangalore and this is all he sends me: C-390 pics! (Okay, that's really all I wanted anyway.)

These Embraer slides shows the dramatic evolution of their jet-powered C-130 replacement concept from relatively simple E190 spin-off to a virtually all-new aircraft with perhaps a common cockpit. And are those CFM56 turbofans under the wing?

[WARNING: Slides are marked "Embraer Proprietary Information", in case you're thinking about emailing them around your company. If the lawyers come after you, just tell them the slides were presented at a very public press conference at Aero India.]

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-d ... s-c-3.html