MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian Air Force phasing out iconic Hercules

The iconic model will be replaced by the locally-built KC-390

Brazil's Air Force (FAB) is phasing out the iconic US-built Lockheed C-130 Hercules four-engined turboprop aircraft to replace it with the locally-produced Embraer KC-390 Millennium, of which a total of 19 units are expected to be delivered.

With 29 units in FAB service over the past nearly 60 years and after over 377,000 hours of flights, the historic model reaches its end at the South American country's military. On Feb. 29, 2024, the unit that went into operation at the FAB in 1964 made its last flight for the 1st Transport Group at the Galeao Air Base. The event was closed with the passage of a C-130 followed by a KC-390.

The KC-390 is the largest aircraft ever designed and produced in the southern hemisphere. Compared to the Hercules, it has a greater range, higher speed, and more precise avionics, in addition to self-protection mechanisms and payload launch systems. Its versatility includes conversions for in-flight refueling or firefighting tasks much faster than the aging C-130. The Brazilian product also features faster turnaround capabilities between sorties. The KC-390 has already been chosen by Hungary, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, and South Korea.

“When we remember everything we lived aboard this imposing four-engine aircraft, all the experiences we shared with our uniformed colleagues, all the challenges we overcame in the most diverse foreign frontiers, all the history we built in these 59 years, we feel categorical in affirming: this aircraft represents us!,” Lieutenant Colonel Umile Coelho Rende, chief of the 1st Transport Group said.