Securing new International customers is becoming increasingly important for Embraer Defense and Security as budget woes in its home country continue to knock domestic military spending.
With Brazil’s economic malaise dragging on and the local currency, the real, continuing to fall against the dollar, divisional chief executive Jackson Schneider says the business must recalibrate and look abroad for new opportunities.
He identifies the A-29 Super Tucano as a continued strong performer in the near term, with another three orders expected by the end of the year.
Technical solutions like radar surveillance and air traffic management systems are also expected to drive foreign sales, he says. Embraer is in “very mature negotiations” with an undisclosed customer for an integrated package that ties together ground-based surveillance radars, air traffic management, command and control, and Super Tucanos.
Further ahead, Schneider believes the developmental KC-390 tanker/transport will become one of its top-selling military products, particularly when the Brazilian air force begins to take delivery of its 28 on-order aircraft from 2018.
While its home government is the only country to place a firm order for the International Aero Engines V2500-powered type, Embraer also holds letters of intent for a further 32 examples from nations including Chile, the Czech Republic and Portugal.
Schneider is also confident that the co-development and production of the twin-seat Saab Gripen NG fighter, initially for the Brazilian air force, will yield long-term sales success. “We are in discussions with Saab to market together this new plane,” Schneider says. “That represents a new product in my portfolio as well.”
In future he anticipates around 60% of its revenues to be generated by domestic sales, down from a high of 70% in 2013.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
