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| Embraer KC-390 (File Photo) |
Grant Bradley
Beside one of the world's longest runways, in the centre of Brazil's Sao Paulo state, sits a plane that looks a bit like Thunderbird 2.
The jet-powered KC-390 is the biggest plane to be built in South America, and it's a brute.
The jet is about the same size as a Hercules military transporter, and that's the aircraft the KC-390's makers, Embraer, have in their sights around the world - including New Zealand, which has about $1 billion to spend on its airlift and VIP fleet in the next decade.
The KC-390 that this month sat in 34C heat just off the Gaviao Peixoto landing strip is one of just two prototypes built so far. The other was being worked on in a hangar besides the strip which at 5km long was once an emergency landing spot for US space shuttles.
As of earlier this month, the pair of planes had flown just 623 hours between them when the Herald was part of a small media contingent to inspect Embraer's commercial, executive jet and defence operations, based around the southern state of Sao Paulo.
The listed Brazilian company has been making planes since 1969; it is a big global player in commercial jets with up to 130 seats, and based on its revenue from aircraft making, vies with Canada's Bombardier for the third spot behind Boeing and Airbus.
In nearly 50 years of business, Embraer has delivered more than 8000 aircraft in more than 90 countries, including the tough, small Bandeirante that flew on regional routes in New Zealand for more than 20 years to 2001.
The KC-390 was conceived in 2009 as a way of diversifying Embraer's revenue, and it has pitched the company into the medium lift market dominated by Lockheed Martin's Herc, a plane first developed in the 1950s, but whose latest model is still seen as the inside runner for New Zealand's next tactical lift purchase.
Embraer says it has been able to start with a clean sheet, and use expertise and technology from its commercial and corporate jet divisions to make a plane that can not only carry big loads, but also get places as much as a third faster than turbo-prop equivalents. It flies at up to 870km/h while still being able to use short and underdeveloped runways.
The company is also promoting its versatility, not only as a cargo carrier but also a multi-mission plane that can be used as a fuel tanker, medevac aircraft and for fighting fires, dropping paratroops and search and rescue.
Customers can also opt for a range of self protection systems, including radar warning receiver, a laser warning system, missile approach warning, and the ability to fire protective chaff and flares.
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