August crewed air review: KC-390 momentum builds as demand in the tanker market grows
Colombia’s acquisition of the KC-390 makes it the 11th country to order the platform. (Photo: Embraer)
The KC-390 is building a growing international operator base, but competition in the transport and tanker market is increasingly likely to depend on interoperability, commonality and the strength of supporting ecosystems. Meanwhile, Boeing’s KC-46 and Airbus’s A330 also gained ground in August.
This past month, Embraer’s KC-390 won yet another major deal as Colombia ordered two of the aircraft. The contract makes Colombia the 11th country to order the aircraft and adds to Embraer’s growing international order list for the platform.
The contract, which was signed in August, makes Colombia the first Latin American nation, beyond Brazil, to acquire the aircraft. The decision to pursue the KC-390 follows years of frustration from the Colombian government with the country’s fleet of second-hand transport aircraft, underscored by the 2026 C-130 Hercules crash, which killed more than 60 service members.
The two platforms contracted to Colombia will be delivered across
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