South Korea’s first Embraer C-390 Millennium reached an important program milestone with its maiden flight in Brazil, marking the transition from rollout and assembly into flight-test activity ahead of delivery. FlightGlobal reported the aircraft flew from Embraer’s facility near São Paulo, with the company having previously said the jet would receive systems specific to the Republic of Korea Air Force after production flights. The event mattered because South Korea’s late-2023 order for three C-390s was the type’s first sale in the Asia-Pacific region, giving Embraer a significant foothold in a market long shaped by Lockheed Martin’s C-130 family and setting up deliveries that were previously expected to begin in 2026.
Images: Embraer