Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer is willing to open a dedicated production facility for the C-390 Millennium military transport in India as part of its bid to win one of the largest transport aircraft procurement programmes in South Asian history. India’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) programme aims to recapitalise a Soviet-era fleet of more than 100 Antonov An-32 turboprops and 17 Ilyushin Il-76 jets that have served the Indian Air Force (IAF) for nearly four decades. No formal request for proposal (RFP) has yet been issued, but Embraer executives told FlightGlobal that New Delhi is in what they describe as “hurry mode.”
The company has partnered with Indian industrial conglomerate Mahindra to pursue the MTA contract. Their alliance, formalised through a Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed in October 2025, covers local manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations for the C-390. Embraer’s chief executive and its chief marketing officer for defence have both stated publicly that the company is prepared to transfer substantial industrial capabilities to India to secure the contract.
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What Embraer Is Offering India Under the MTA Programme
Embraer’s chief marketing officer for defense, Marcio Monteiro, told FlightGlobal on June 16, 2026 that the company is prepared to relocate core production capabilities to India. “We are willing to transfer everything, as much as possible,” Monteiro said. “We are also talking to our supply chain, checking with them what can be transferred to India, given the size of the potential… order.”
The proposed Indian facility would replicate Embraer’s Gavio Peixoto complex in Brazil, which currently houses two hangars for both structural assembly of C-390 fuselage sections and final aircraft assembly. Monteiro confirmed the Indian site would start with at least that level of capability. “That’s how the factory in India would look, at least,” he said. “Depending on the requirements of percentage of localisation, we may need to do more.”
That additional scope could include building new factories in India to fabricate core structural components. Those components are currently manufactured offsite in Brazil and shipped to Gavio Peixoto. Monteiro noted that such a facility could also support C-390 exports to other global customers beyond India. “I think India would be interested in doing that sort of business,” he said.
Embraer chief executive Francisco Gomes Neto confirmed the company’s commitment directly. “We are working very hard with… Mahindra in India to be ready for this bid,” he told FlightGlobal.
The Scale of India’s MTA Requirement
India’s MTA programme is one of the most consequential military aviation tenders in the region. The IAF’s current transport fleet includes over 100 An-32 turboprops, 14 operational Il-76s, 11 Boeing C-17 Globemasters, and 12 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. The An-32s entered IAF service in 1984 and have become increasingly difficult to maintain due to aging airframes and dwindling spare parts availability.
The programme was formally cleared in early 2026 with a requirement for approximately 60 aircraft, though Embraer believes the final order could cover 60 to 80 aircraft. An order at the top of that range would nearly double Embraer’s current C-390 backlog, which covers about 90 aircraft in orders and options. India’s defence acquisition guidelines generally require at least 50% locally sourced content for major purchases, making an Indian production line essential rather than optional for any serious bidder.
The new aircraft will replace the An-32 fleet and are also expected to assume some missions currently performed by the Il-76. The requirement specifically calls for aircraft capable of operating from short or semi-prepared runways and high-altitude airfields, including advanced landing grounds in Ladakh and India’s northeastern regions. These conditions became operationally critical during India’s military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, when airlift was essential for sustaining forward deployments.
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Key Specifications and Capabilities of C-390 Millennium
The C-390 Millennium is a twin-engine, jet-powered medium transport manufactured at Embraer’s Gavio Peixoto facility. Its primary specifications give it a clear performance advantage over most turboprop competitors in the same weight class:
- Maximum payload (concentrated): 26 tonnes (57,320 lb)
- Maximum cruise speed: 470 knots (Mach 0.80)
- Range with 14-tonne payload: 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 km)
- Range with 23-tonne payload: 1,470 nautical miles
- Ferry range (with internal tanks): 4,570 nautical miles
- Engines: Two IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines, each producing approximately 31,000 lb of thrust
- Service ceiling: 36,000 feet
- Normal take-off distance (23-tonne payload, sea level): 1,524 metres (5,000 ft)
- Maximum take-off weight: approximately 87,000 kg (191,800 lb)
- Cargo capacity: 80 passengers or 64 fully armed airborne soldiers
- Avionics: Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion suite with five 15-inch night-vision-compatible displays
- Multi-role capability: Cargo and troop transport, medical evacuation, air-to-air refuelling (both tanker and receiver), firefighting, humanitarian relief, and airdrop operations
Embraer claims the C-390 is 40% more effective than medium-lift turboprops in terms of range, speed, and payload. The aircraft is designed to operate from semi-prepared and damaged runways, making it suitable for austere environments. Embraer touts a mission capability rate of 93% for the frontline C-390 fleet, which currently numbers 14 examples in service with Brazil, Portugal, and Hungary — half of them less than three years old.
A Timeline of Embraer–Mahindra Partnership
The Embraer–Mahindra alliance has developed through a structured series of formal agreements. Their cooperation ahead of the MTA bid now spans initial teaming through to MRO planning:
- February 2024: Embraer Defense & Security and Mahindra signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Brazilian Embassy in New Delhi to jointly pursue the MTA programme.
- October 2025: The two companies upgraded their arrangement to a Strategic Cooperation Agreement, signed at the inauguration of Embraer’s national office in New Delhi. This agreement covers production of the C-390 in India and deepens the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ industrial commitments.
- February 2026: Embraer and Mahindra announced plans for a dedicated C-390 MRO facility in India, contingent on IAF selection. The planned facility would provide base and heavy maintenance, structural inspections, avionics support, and crew training.
- June 2026: Embraer executives publicly confirmed readiness to open a full C-390 assembly line in India, including potential fabrication of structural components currently produced in Brazil.
Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, described the partnership’s ambition at the October 2025 signing:
“India has a diverse and strong defense and aerospace industry and we have chosen Mahindra as our partner to jointly pursue the MTA program,”
he said:
“India is a key market for Embraer and we fully support India’s ambitions for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
Lockheed Martin And Airbus Are Also in the Field
Embraer faces two well-entrenched rivals for the MTA contract, both of which have existing manufacturing footprints in India.
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
India already operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, inducted since 2011, primarily for special operations, humanitarian assistance, and high-altitude logistics. Lockheed’s joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems, known as Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL), operates in Hyderabad and serves as the sole global source for C-130J empennage assemblies — tail sections installed on every new Super Hercules produced worldwide. In late 2025, TLMAL delivered its 250th Indian-made empennage. Lockheed has also broken ground on a C-130J MRO facility in Bengaluru, with first inductions planned for 2027.
Rob Toth, Lockheed’s vice-president of strategy development for air mobility and maritime missions, told FlightGlobal in December 2025 that the company would establish final aircraft assembly in India if it wins the MTA contract. “We would establish that facility in India while we maintain full-rate production in Marietta,” he said. Lockheed currently delivers between 20 and 24 C-130Js annually from its Marietta, Georgia plant and says the production rate could be increased to meet India’s timeline requirements.
The C-130J has a maximum payload of approximately 20 tonnes and operates on turboprop engines, giving it shorter runway requirements than the jet-powered C-390 — an attribute that could matter in India’s high-altitude operating environments.
Airbus A400M
Airbus is also expected to enter the MTA competition with its A400M Atlas turboprop. The A400M carries the largest payload and offers the greatest range of the three competitors but also attracts the highest purchase price, lowest availability rate, and higher operating costs. The aircraft type is not currently in the IAF inventory, though Airbus has an established industrial presence in India through its C295 programme with Tata.
India operates 16 Airbus C295 transports assembled in Seville, Spain under a contract covering 56 aircraft in total. The remaining 40 will be produced at a Tata-Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara, Gujarat. The first India-made C295 completed its maiden test flight on June 10, 2026, marking a significant milestone for Indian private-sector aerospace manufacturing.
High-Altitude Performance is the Key Battleground for the MTA Contract
One critical and unresolved area of competition is the requirement to operate from high-altitude airfields, particularly in Ladakh and the northeastern frontier. The C-130J has an established track record here, having supported NATO operations in Afghanistan and conducted covert missions in the Himalayas during Cold War operations. The C-390’s heavier weight and longer take-off roll might, in theory, place it at a disadvantage in these environments.
Embraer’s Monteiro disputes this directly. “We have looked into [it] with the Indian air force,” he told FlightGlobal. “The airplane is completely capable of meeting those requirements.” Gomes Neto, the company’s chief executive, went further. “In terms of operations, in terms of maintenance cost, in terms of performance, we believe it is the best solution for the Indian air force,” he said.
From a pure performance comparison, the C-390 has a shorter normal take-off distance at 16-tonne payload — 1,165 metres versus the C-130J’s rough-field performance — and its jet engines offer significantly higher power-to-weight ratios at altitude. High-altitude airfield performance data for the C-390 specific to Indian requirements has not been made public.
How The MTA Bid Fits India’s Broader Aerospace Industrialisation
The MTA competition takes place against the backdrop of India’s rapid expansion in domestic defence manufacturing. India’s defence procurement guidelines require a minimum of 50% local content in major acquisitions, and the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative has pushed that threshold higher in practice for strategically important programmes.
The C295 programme demonstrates how deep this industrialisation now runs. The Tata-Airbus Vadodara facility produces more than 85% of the structural and final assembly content for 40 aircraft, using inputs from 37 Indian suppliers and covering some 13,000 individual parts. The Lockheed–Tata joint venture in Hyderabad has accumulated over $1 billion in export revenue and supports an estimated 1,700 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect roles through its 500-strong supplier network.
Embraer’s proposal to establish a second global C-390 assembly line in India — one that could also supply export customers — would represent an unprecedented industrial transfer from a South American manufacturer to an Asian partner. Vinod Sahay, a member of Mahindra’s Group Executive Board, described the partnership’s ambition in February 2026. “A state-of-the-art MRO capability for the C-390 Millennium in India would ensure high aircraft availability, greater operational autonomy and a comprehensive local support solution for the Indian Air Force throughout the lifecycle of the aircraft,” he said.
The India MTA RFP is expected to be released in the coming months, pending approval through India’s multi-stage defence acquisition bureaucracy. Until the RFP formally defines evaluation criteria, the weight assigned to industrial offset commitments versus platform performance remains officially unknown — though bidders are treating local manufacturing depth as decisive.