By Gabriel Araujo and Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Sweden has selected Embraer’s C-390 Millennium as its next military cargo aircraft, while Brazil intends to buy more Gripen fighter jets from Swedish defense company Saab, the European country’s government said.
The letter of intent signed on Saturday comes after lengthy talks between the countries for Brazil to increase its existing Gripen orders and Sweden to tap the Embraer plane as replacement for its aging fleet of Lockheed Martin’s C-130.
Brazil signed a contract in 2010 with Saab to buy 36 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. It now plans to extend the contract by 25%, the Swedish government said.
In return, Sweden has selected Embraer’s C-390 Millennium as its new military cargo aircraft and will now start the process of buying it.
“Sweden carried out a very in-depth analysis, evaluated several competitors and interacted with current C-390 operators and customers. We are very happy,” Embraer’s defense head Bosco da Costa Junior told Reuters in an interview.
The Nordic country did not immediately reveal how many C-390s it would buy or when a firm order would be placed. Costa said Sweden had some urgency and hoped it would start adding the aircraft “as soon as possible”.
Sweden is the sixth European nation to select the Embraer aircraft, joining fellow NATO members Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as non-NATO Austria. Brazil and South Korea also have purchased the C-390.
The letter of intent was signed by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and his Brazilian counterpart Jose Mucio in Natal, Brazil, where the South American country organized a multinational operational training exercise.
Reuters reported in 2023 that Brazil was considering buying more Gripen fighters, and that Mucio had traveled to Sweden to negotiate a deal that would also include the European nation purchasing the C-390.
“It is of course very good news for Saab and Sweden. We know that Brazil is very happy with JAS as its fighter jet. Now we look forward to continuing discussions with Brazil about further orders,” a Saab spokesperson said, adding no contract had been signed.
Saab and Embraer have had a joint production line for Gripens in Brazil since last year. Swedish Radio reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that Colombia will buy a fleet of JAS Gripen fighter aircraft.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo in Rehoboth Beach, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Fabio Teixeira in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Barbara Lewis and Bill Berkrot)
