Sweden has signed a formal agreement to advance its acquisition of Embraer C-390 tactical transports in partnership with European buyers Austria and the Netherlands.
On 22 April, Stockholm’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) signed up to a cooperation agreement already established by the existing customer nations, who it says have “agreed to integrate Sweden into the existing memorandum of understanding [MoU]”.
“The procurement will take place with the Netherlands as [lead] agent and representative for the other nations,” the FMV says.
“By conducting the procurement together, the order will be less costly and the planes can be delivered faster,” the agency says.
Sweden announced its selection of the Brazilian-built twinjet last November, with Embraer subsequently disclosing that its acquisition will cover four examples.
The expanded procurement agreement among the three partners now covers a total of 13 aircraft, with Austria to take four and the Netherlands five. The nations all currently operate veteran Lockheed Martin C-130H/K Hercules airlifters.
Signed at the Farnborough air show in July 2024, the then-bilateral MoU between Austria and the Netherlands covered the acquisition of aircraft in a common configuration, along with agreements around future training and maintenance.
Separately, Sweden has performed the first flight of a Learjet 60 business jet acquired for use in roles including electronic warfare training and target towing.
Conducted from Malmen air base near Linkoping, the post-maintenance test flight involved the first of four secondhand aircraft acquired by the FMV late last year and now added to the Swedish military register.
Work will now advance to replace the aircraft’s passenger-configured interior with new operator stations, and to instal wiring to allow it to carry under-wing equipment.
The FMV had previously disclosed the purchase of three used Learjet 60s to replace a pair of currently operational Learjet 35s.
