Embraer Defense & Security

Embraer Defense & Security is the military aircraft division of Embraer S.A., Brazil's aerospace champion, which the government founded in 1969 and later privatized while retaining a golden share that gives it veto rights over strategic decisions. The defense unit draws on the same engineering base that makes Embraer the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jets under 150 seats, and it channels that expertise into two flagship aircraft families that have become genuine export successes for a country not traditionally thought of as a major arms exporter. The C-390 Millennium, marketed as the KC-390 in its tanker configuration, is a medium military transport that competes directly with older platforms like the C-130, carrying up to roughly twenty-six tons of cargo while flying faster and farther than most turboprop rivals in its class.

Since entering Brazilian Air Force service in 2019, the C-390 has been ordered by Portugal, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, and most recently Uzbekistan, giving Embraer a real foothold in the NATO and NATO-adjacent transport aircraft market that Lockheed Martin has long dominated. The A-29 Super Tucano is the other pillar of the defense business, a turboprop light attack and advanced trainer aircraft that has become the global standard in its category, with more than 290 aircraft delivered, over 570,000 total flight hours logged, and roughly 60,000 of those hours flown in actual combat operations across counter-insurgency and border-security missions in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The Philippines and other new customers have continued to add A-29 orders even as Embraer works on upgrades to give the aircraft a role in countering unmanned aerial threats.

Beyond the two flagship platforms, the defense unit's broader portfolio includes modernization and upgrade programs for older military aircraft, aerial refueling and cargo systems, and ISR mission systems integration, along with participation through Embraer group subsidiaries in air traffic management, cybersecurity, and simulation and training systems that support both the commercial and military sides of the parent company. The division operates primarily from Embraer's main industrial complex in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, alongside Embraer's commercial aircraft lines, and benefits from shared manufacturing, supply chain, and engineering resources rather than running as a fully separate company. As a segment of a NYSE- and B3-listed parent rather than an independently traded entity, Embraer Defense & Security does not have its own stock listing, but its growth has become an increasingly important part of Embraer's overall results as European and Middle Eastern governments look for transport and light attack aircraft outside the traditional US and Russian supplier base, particularly given rising defense budgets and the geopolitical desire among many buyers to diversify away from single-source suppliers.