Articles
The global aerospace industry has been neatly divided into the Airbus / Boeing duopoly for decades. But competition for third place is hotting up. Every year firms such as Canada's Bombardier, Brazil's Embraer and China's Comac are snapping closer at the heels of the big two.
Embraer was created in 1969 by the Brazilian government. The company was privatised in 1994, when it began to develop small commercial aircraft and regional airliners with up to 100 seats. It has several successful aircraft in this category, including the CRJ700 and the E-Jet.
Lots of investment early on means that the company has a strong pedigree of engineers within its business. The downside of the legacy from its government-owned time is that it has lacked key elements in its local supply chain and internal experience of systems integration.
Embraer’s engineers have designed aircraft, but key elements and major systems integration were handled by external European and American companies. This is in contrast to the conventional aerospace business arrangement, which sees Airbus and Boeing contract out components and structural packages to different countries, including emerging economies, while the hefty systems integration and final assembly happens on home soil.
The arrangement has worked to Embraer’s advantage, allowing it to cherry pick from the best components and drive down costs because of its role as gatekeeper to the lucrative South American market.
But with the aviation markets in emerging economies growing strongly and Chinese and Indian rivals rapidly “upskilling”, Embraer is on a mission to fill the knowledge gaps. The KC390 mid-sized military transport aircraft is filling a big gap.
Paulo Gastao Silv, vice president of KC390 programme, Embraer, says: “The KC390 has a number of challenges and it represents a number of firsts for Embraer. It's the largest airplane we have ever made. It has the highest wings we've ever put on an airplane. It's the first time we've produced an airplane that has cargo handling and delivery systems. We're handling the full integration of systems and fly-by-wire software inhouse for the first time.”
“We’ve established mitigation plans for all of the challenges. We've done a lot of wind tunnel testing and computer simulation. We've also worked with closer with suppliers with high levels of knowledge in areas we have less experience in. The mitigation strategies have been overcoming challenges day-to-day to keep the aircraft compliant with the Air Force's requirements.”
The KC390 is being supplied to replace the Brazilian Air Force's fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130s, with similar payload capacity but with added features and efficiency. A key difference is the KC390’s twin turbofan engines, as opposed to the C-130’s turboprops. Silv says: “We are not developing this aircraft to replace the C130. It is to meet the Brazilian Air Force's future requirements. They want an aircraft with increased efficiency and a number of advantages. It's in the same segment, but its a different aircraft.”
The Brazilian Air Force confirmed its order for 28 KC390s in July. Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal have also agreed to purchase up to 32 aircraft
As well as seeking to maximise the amount of cargo the KC390 can carry, which is 23 tonnes, and make it is a fuel efficient as possible, engineers have aimed to make the aircraft as rugged as possible. Silv says: “The rugged design is a very important aspect of the aircraft. It is a very strong airframe and can run on very damaged or soft runways. It can operate in environments from the Amazon to the Antarctic.”
The aircraft is also designed to be as flexible as possible, it can carry up to 80 troops or an armoured vehicle or helicopter, and can be quickly converted for use as a fuel tanker. Two extra fuel tanks to give it a maximum range of 4,600 nautical miles in search and rescue missions. It features fly-by-wire control system, active side stick for its flight controls and a self-protection suite of ballistics, chaff and flares. “We put all engineering specialisations for product development, manufacturing development and maintenance together in one room from day one. This brings integrated major solutions to the product,” says Silv.
The KC390 is planned to be certified by 2016 and engineers are on target for first flight before the end of this year, says the company. Jackson Schneider, chief executive of Embraer, is confident of success: “We will have a good product and we are very confident it will be a significant part of the market in the future,” he says.
The KC390 is the largest and most complex aircraft Embraer has ever made. Military transport aircraft are notoriously difficult to develop. Airbus A400m has been plagued by delays and cost overruns caused by technical difficulties. The pressure is on Embraer’s engineers, as the global aerospace sector observes the development of an aircraft that could shape an entire company’s future.