Embraer completes KC/C-390 deliveries to Hungary

The second of two KC/C-390 airlifters was delivered to Hungary on 21 November 2025, making the country the first customer to complete its programme of record. (Embraer)

Embraer has completed deliveries of its KC/C-390 Millennium to Hungary, handing over the second and final airlifter on 21 November.

The Brazilian manufacturer formally delivered the final aircraft to the Hungarian Air Force in a ceremony at Kecskemét Air Base attended by Hungarian Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

“This type of transport capability was lacking in the Hungarian Air Force's arsenal, but now it is available,” Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

The completion of deliveries came about 19 months after the first KC/C-390 arrived in Hungary in April 2024, ahead of being formally handed over to the air force later in the year. “Since its entry into service in late 2024, the first Hungarian aircraft has performed a wide variety of missions at a completion rate above 99%. With the delivery of its second aircraft, Hungary becomes the first C-390 operator to receive all contracted aircraft,” Embraer said.

Hungary signed for the two KC/C-390s (KC-390 denotes the aircraft in its aerial refuelling configuration, with C-390 being in its baseline transport configuration) in November 2020. The aircraft for Hungary are to now be used for tactical transport operations, air-to-air refuelling of the service's Saab Gripen C/D fighters, and for the medical evacuation (medevac) role. The Hungarian KC/C-390s will be the first to include provisions for an intensive care unit.

The two KC-390s will join two Airbus A319 airliners that the Hungarian Air Force has flown since 2018. The KC-390s will afford the capability to load outsized cargo via its rear ramp, which is not something the A319 can do.