The Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania has announced the selection of Embraer’s C-390 Millennium as the nation’s next-generation military transport aircraft. This choice represents a significant step forward in strengthening Lithuania’s operational readiness and NATO interoperability, and the acquisition will proceed following national legal procedures.
Built to excel in austere and challenging conditions, the C-390 Millennium delivers exceptional speed, payload, and mission adaptability. Lithuania now joins numerous European and NATO allies—including Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Slovakia—in choosing the C-390 for modernizing their air forces. This decision enables Lithuania to significantly improve its operational capabilities while benefiting from Europe’s comprehensive support and training ecosystem.
Since entering operational service with Brazil in 2019, and subsequently Portugal in 2023 and Hungary in 2024, the C-390 Millennium has proven its reliability, achieving a 93% mission capability and over 99% mission completion rate. It outperforms many medium-sized military transports with its 26-ton payload and 470-knot cruise speed, performing diverse missions such as troop and cargo transport, medical evacuation, firefighting, search and rescue, and humanitarian relief—even from rough or temporary runways. The aircraft can also be equipped for air-to-air refueling, having demonstrated this capability both as a tanker and receiver using underwing pods.
