What Is Embraer? Brazil’s Aerospace and Defence Company Explained

Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) was created by the Brazilian government on 19 August 1969. Its first task was to put into production the EMB 110 Bandeirante, a twin-turboprop light transport designed at the Aerospace Technical Centre (CTA). The Bandeirante served the Brazilian Air Force and found a market among regional airlines in the United States and Europe during the 1970s. It was followed by the EMB 120 Brasilia airliner, the Ipanema agricultural aircraft and the EMB 312 Tucano trainer, which gave the company its first large export orders.

In the 1980s Embraer joined Italy’s Aeritalia and Aermacchi to develop the AMX ground-attack jet, its first major international partnership. A financial crisis in the early 1990s pushed the company into heavy losses, and in December 1994 it was privatised. The Brazilian state retained a golden share with veto rights over strategic decisions such as military programmes and changes of control. The 50-seat ERJ 145 family, launched after privatisation, sold in large numbers to regional carriers and turned Embraer into one of Brazil’s largest exporters.

The E-Jet family (E170, E175, E190, E195) entered service in 2004 and established the company in the 70-130 seat segment; the re-engined E2 generation followed in 2018. In 2018-2019 Embraer agreed to transfer 80 percent of its commercial aviation business to a joint venture controlled by Boeing. Boeing terminated the agreement in April 2020. Embraer took the dispute to arbitration, which concluded in its favour in 2024 with Boeing paying compensation. The company is listed on the B3 exchange in São Paulo and on the New York Stock Exchange.

Embraer reports through four main segments plus a listed subsidiary. Commercial Aviation covers the E-Jets E2 family in the 70-150 seat range, while the first-generation E175 remains the standard regional jet of US airlines because of pilot scope-clause limits. Executive Jets builds the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 light jets and the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 midsize jets. The Phenom 300 series has been reported as the most-delivered light business jet for more than a decade.

Defense & Security includes military transport, light attack, training and surveillance aircraft together with command-and-control and space systems. Services & Support gathers maintenance, spare parts, training and modification revenue, and includes the OGMA maintenance centre in Portugal, in which Embraer holds a majority stake. The fifth element is Eve Air Mobility, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Eve is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and, as of 2026, is in prototype flight testing.

The centrepiece of the defence portfolio is the C-390 Millennium, a twin-turbofan medium tactical transport. It first flew in 2015 and entered service with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019. Key figures are a payload of about 26 tonnes, a cruise speed of about 870 km/h and the ability to operate from unpaved strips. The tanker-configured version is designated KC-390. The aircraft competes directly with the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and, in Europe, is often weighed against the larger Airbus A400M.

The A-29 Super Tucano is a turboprop light attack and advanced training aircraft in service since 2003 with close to twenty air forces. In the Gripen E/F programme Embraer is Saab’s industrial partner: part of the Brazilian Air Force’s F-39 fleet is assembled at the Gavião Peixoto plant, and Embraer engineers took part in developing the two-seat F variant. The E-99 airborne early warning, R-99 remote sensing and P-99 maritime patrol aircraft are all derived from the ERJ 145 airframe.

Within the group, Atech develops air traffic management and command-and-control software. Visiona Tecnologia Espacial, a joint venture with the state telecoms company Telebras, managed Brazil’s SGDC geostationary defence and strategic communications satellite and designs small satellites. Embraer was also prime contractor for SISFRON, the Brazilian Army’s integrated border monitoring system. These activities are small next to aircraft sales but establish the company as a systems integrator.

The turning point for C-390 exports came in 2019 when Portugal ordered five aircraft, later raised to six. Hungary signed for two KC-390s in 2020. The Netherlands selected five in 2022, Austria four and the Czech Republic two in 2023. South Korea chose the aircraft in its military transport competition in 2023. Sweden announced in 2024 that it had selected the C-390 to succeed its Hercules fleet, and Slovakia announced a purchase of three in 2025. Because some agreements include options, published totals vary between sources.

Two further customers were reported in 2026: Greece, with three C-390s, and Colombia, with two KC-390s. The Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic use a shared procurement and support model, which has created a user community for the type inside NATO. Embraer has positioned its OGMA facility in Portugal as a European maintenance hub. In 2025 the company said its defence order backlog had reached a record level.

Several factors explain the run of orders. The C-390 is faster and carries more than the C-130J, and it is generally regarded as considerably cheaper than the A400M. Its jet engines allow it to fly at the same altitudes and speeds as commercial traffic in congested European airspace. Embraer also offers industrial participation: suppliers in Portugal, Hungary and the Czech Republic produce components for the programme. The main weakness is production rate, which has remained at a handful of aircraft per year and raises questions about delivery schedules.

The EMB 314 Super Tucano is an armoured, armed and more powerful development of the 1980s T-27 Tucano trainer. The Brazilian Air Force introduced it in 2003 for border patrol and interception of illegal flights over the Amazon. Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia were among the first export customers. Its low operating cost and simple maintenance make it attractive to air forces with limited budgets that need a counter-insurgency and surveillance platform.

For the US Air Force Light Air Support programme Embraer partnered with Sierra Nevada Corporation, and the aircraft were assembled in Jacksonville, Florida. These airframes were delivered with US funding to the air forces of Afghanistan and Lebanon; the Afghan fleet was dispersed when the government collapsed in 2021. Nigeria received twelve aircraft in 2021-2022 and has used them in operations in its north-east. The Philippines took six. In Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Angola and Mauritania are also operators.

In 2024 Portugal ordered twelve aircraft in the NATO-standard A-29N configuration, becoming the first European customer. Paraguay and Uruguay have announced new orders in recent years. Total orders are reported to exceed 260, although the status of some agreements is described differently in different sources. The Super Tucano occupies a niche similar to that targeted by other turboprop light attack programmes: low-intensity missions at a fraction of the cost of a jet fighter.

Embraer is the de facto leader in the sub-150-seat commercial jet segment and the third-largest commercial jet manufacturer after Airbus and Boeing by airframes delivered. Bombardier’s exit from the market, after selling the CRJ programme to Mitsubishi, strengthened that position. On the other hand, the Airbus A220 (the former Bombardier C Series) is a direct competitor to the E2 family with greater capacity. China’s COMAC, with the ARJ21 and C919, serves mainly its domestic market.

The collapse of the Boeing partnership remains the most debated episode in the company’s recent history. Preparations for the deal, valued at about US$4.2 billion, required the carve-out of the commercial business, and the termination coincided with the pandemic downturn. The arbitration ended in Embraer’s favour in 2024, but the compensation reported in the press was far below the value of the original deal. The affair revived discussion in Brazil about the company’s strategic independence and the role of the state’s golden share.

Defense & Security contributes roughly 15 to 20 percent of group revenue and is seen as a counterweight to the cyclical commercial business. The C-390 competes with Lockheed Martin’s C-130J and the Airbus A400M, and Embraer’s European wins have split a market the two incumbents long shared. Criticism focuses on production pace, supply-chain constraints and dependence on Brazilian government orders; the Brazilian Air Force’s reduction of its KC-390 order from 28 to 19 aircraft is a concrete example of that dependence.

Embraer is a publicly traded company listed in São Paulo (B3) and New York. The Brazilian state holds a golden share dating from the 1994 privatisation, which gives it veto rights over strategic matters such as military programmes and changes of control.

Brazil, Portugal and Hungary have taken deliveries. The Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Sweden and Slovakia have ordered or selected the aircraft, and Greece and Colombia announced purchases in 2026. Fleet sizes range from two to six aircraft.

Defense and Security accounts for roughly 15 to 20 percent of group revenue, which was about US$6.4 billion in 2024. The share moves from year to year with C-390 and A-29 deliveries.

In 2019 the companies agreed that Boeing would acquire 80 percent of Embraer’s commercial aviation business. Boeing cancelled the deal in April 2020. Embraer went to arbitration, which ruled in its favour in 2024, and Boeing paid compensation.

Close air support, armed reconnaissance, border patrol, interception of light aircraft and advanced pilot training. Its low operating cost makes it popular with air forces in Latin America and Africa.