GRAZ, Austria — The Austrian Air Force will buy four Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft to replace its aging fleet of three C-130 Hercules cargo planes in a deal expected to be worth more than €500 million (U.S. $532 million), the Defence Ministry announced Sept. 20.
Austria’s current fleet of turboprop transporters was purchased 20 years ago as secondhand aircraft. The planes are now 56 years old. To prolong their service life, an upgrade of almost €37 million would be required, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported.
The service would ultimately have to withdraw the fleet from service by 2030 amid maintenance costs for the aging aircraft constantly increasing, the ministry said.
In a news conference, the ministry said this money would instead contribute to the purchase of the four new aircraft.
The ministry added that the price per unit will likely be between €130 million and €150 million, and that the first new planes may arrive in Austria as soon as 2026. A contract is expected to be signed in the first half of the coming year, per defense officials.
The C-390 was the only aircraft in its class that fulfilled all of Austria’s requirements, the ministry said in a news release. It is also larger than the American-made C-130 and capable of transporting a Black Hawk helicopter or a Pandur Evo light wheeled tank with its weapons station attached.
The S-70 Black Hawk has served as the backbone of the Austrian military’s helicopter fleet for the past 21 years. The country recently announced the purchase of 12 further units.
The new transport aircraft will be stationed on the military airfield in Hörsching near the northern Austrian city of Linz. The air base currently hosts the Hercules fleet and will receive upgrades to accommodate the new aircraft.
Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner highlighted as a benefit that other European partners were also procuring the Brazilian aircraft.
Portugal has ordered five and Hungary bought two C-390s, while the Czech Republic and Sweden are also considering buying the aircraft, Reuters reported.
Austrian defense leaders said they hope to piggyback on a planned procurement of the aircraft by the Dutch to keep costs down and facilitate training. Negotiations for the collaboration are already underway, according to the Austrian ministry.
Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported the Netherlands may add the four extra aircraft to its own order before passing them onto Austria.
Austria has shied away in recent years from purchasing military aircraft directly from manufacturers following a major corruption scandal surrounding the 2002 procurement of the Eurofighter jet.
Linus Höller is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He covers international security and military developments across the continent. Linus holds a degree in journalism, political science and international studies, and is currently pursuing a master’s in nonproliferation and terrorism studies.
