Embraer has started testing the KC-390 tanker transport on an unpaved runway. They will last several weeks. During this time, Embraer will evaluate the effectiveness of the heaviest Brazilian transport vehicle, which was created for taking off and landing on uneven surfaces, including damaged and unprepared lanes.
Embraer has been developing the KC-390 since 2007. It is designed to transport cargo or fuel weighing up to 26 tons and can reach speeds of up to 850 kilometers per hour. The range of the aircraft is five thousand kilometers. With a length of 33.4 meters and a height of 11.4 meters, its wingspan is 33.9 meters. The maximum take-off weight of the heaviest Brazilian transport vehicle is 81 tons.
The KC-390 took off for the first time in 2015, and in 2018 [...] its production version took to the air. Since then, it has already been tested by dropping cargo, severe frosts and air refueling . The Brazilian military received the first KC-390 in 2019, and now they already have four such aircraft. In total, they ordered 30 transport workers, but in May they reduced the order to 28, because the budget was cut due to the pandemic.
The KC-390 tanker transport was conceived as an aircraft that is undemanding to the quality of runways. He must be able to land and take off from damaged and unprepared lanes. Therefore, its turbines are located in front on a high wing. This configuration should prevent soil from getting into the engines.
Embraer began testing the KC-390 on a dirt runway on July 23. They are held in the municipality of Gavian Peixotu in southern Brazil. The length of the dirt strip is 1800 meters. The tests will last several weeks.
Image source: Embraer
Image source: Embraer
Image source: Embraer
Having created the heaviest Brazilian transport vehicle, Embraer took up the development of another, light and hybrid one. Earlier we wrote that it should also be undemanding to runways — it is planned to use it on unprepared airfields.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
