Embraer military plant in Poland? “It is possible”. They made a condition

“Based on that Acquisition of strategic airlift, medical evacuation and aerial refueling capabilities “The Ministry of National Defense is conducting a multi-level analysis of various forms of securing these capabilities and possible deadlines for accelerating their implementation in relation to the original plans to acquire them,” the Ministry of National Defense responded to money.pl’s. Questions.

An aircraft capable of performing these tasks is the Embraer C-390 Millennium. The Brazilians do not hide the fact that they rub their hands against the possibility of cooperation with Poland. Their aircraft have been in the fleet of LOT Polish Airlines for 20 years. Now they want to establish military cooperation. The company did not disclose list prices for the C-390 Millennium. The Austrian contract for four such aircraft is estimated to be worth approximately EUR 600 million.

The rest of the article is below the video

Marcin Walków, money.pl: Given the situation in the world, how important is its military sector to Embraer’s business today?

Bosco da Costa Jr., CEO of Embraer Defense & Security: Our concern is divided into four business segments: Passenger Aviation, Private Jets, Services and Security. And each of them works for the healthy state of the company. The latter is a Brazilian government security platform. At Embraer, we consider this an international business, not just in defense and war – these are products that are used in humanitarian missions as well.

Ukraine has been at war for more than two years, which has changed governments’ approach to defense and defense spending. Are you seeing increased interest in this area of ​​your business?

We see this not only in Europe, but all over the world. Every country expects an increase in its defense budget. After the start of the war in Ukraine, our C-390 was purchased by several countries in Europe as well. We are seeing changes in legislation aimed at increasing the percentage of GDP allocated to defense procurement. The rest of the world is also moving in this direction.

How big is this business – how much money is on the table?

Just from the perspective of government spending in 2023, we can talk about trillions of dollars, amounts with twelve zeros. We are willing to “hold” some of these investments.

Is the world entering a war economy, and will this be the main driving force?

In my opinion, this is not the moment. The world has become much smaller and people are more focused on conflicts today. You mentioned Ukraine, we see what is happening in Israel and the Gaza Strip. All this helps to increase the awareness of society in investing in security. This makes it easier for politicians to increase such spending.

Embraer has been on the Polish market for 20 years with passenger aircraft, but not with military products. What are your plans for the Polish market?

In this segment, we consider Poland as one of our strategic markets. I will go to Warsaw and meet some partners and try to get closer to Poland. I know you’re a big economy in Europe and very tied to American products. However, we believe that our C-390 can play an important role in Poland, which is why we want to be a partner of the Polish Air Force.

You mentioned Poland’s strong ties with the US and, more broadly, membership in NATO. It is also said that the government in Warsaw may tighten cooperation with Airbus. Any chance of a Brazilian manufacturer?

I think so. It’s all a matter of demand – and we try to offer our product as an added value and opportunity generator. Compete with others as much as possible.

You already have customers for the C-390 in Portugal, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary. Is this an argument in negotiations with the Polish government?

It’s very important and it’s one of the doors I’m going to knock on to ask for support in showing what I just talked about, the practical advantages of our aircraft. For example, during joint military exercises. All these countries have played a role in building the reputation of the C-390.

A direct competitor of your aircraft is the popular American C-130 Hercules. Although Polish machines are 30 to 50 years old, they work and the army is satisfied with them, as you can read in the articles. Any chance of demand for C-390?

I look at it in different ways. The C-390 could replace the aging C-130, and with the younger machines, fill them. The most important thing is to see what Poland can do with our aircraft.

What would be your product’s competitive advantage over the C-130?

True multitasking. In a maximum of three hours, you can completely change its configuration – from a transport mission to a tanker for refueling airplanes. It has low operating costs, short heavy-duty inspection time – 20 days, and in the case of the competitor it is months.

I have a lot of respect for our competitor’s platform. However, the fact remains that our C-390 is the only aircraft of this type designed and manufactured in the 21st century. That is why we are ready to conquer new markets like Poland.

What is the difference between a military aircraft and a passenger aircraft? I suspect the Army and Defense Ministers are not choosing between different models of seats, cushions and platforms, but rather analyzing documents?

Perhaps I will surprise you, but there are many differences. Of course, ultimately selling to the government is more bureaucratic and takes longer. Therefore, a sales campaign for the C-390 lasts on average three and a half to five years, although there are also campaigns that run for 10 years.

But today, governments don’t just look at papers and make decisions. Customers also want to “touch”, sit, watch live, fly. They are certainly very careful as they spend the public money of their citizens.

Military procurement includes not only aircraft but also offsets. CASA’s first customer for C295 aircraft is Poland and their service facility is established here. Besides price, what can you do to impress the Polish government?

As a company, we have conditions for cooperation in many fields – from EVE powered elevators to the security market. Compared to our competitors, we are in a completely different place, really at the beginning of the C-390’s journey through global markets. That is why we are expanding the capacity of our production line in Brazil. We look forward to penetrating the US, Indian and Saudi Arabian markets. We have the conditions for technology transfer, we are growing and we see increasing demand for what a particular country can supply.

So would an Embraer military plant in Poland, for example an assembly line, be possible if the government ordered these planes?

Yes it is possible. We need to sit down to talk about order size first so that the economics apply. You don’t build a new plant for one or two planes.