Brazilian Air Force Embraer KC-390 Millennium with nose number 53 on static display at Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru

Embraer and Mahindra Earmark Nagpur for a C-390 Assembly Line

by Max Grünwald | Oct 2, 2026 | Aviazione militare, Notizia | 0 comments

In February 2023 a Brazilian Air Force KC-390 stood on the static line at Yelahanka in Bengaluru, the type’s first appearance at Aero India. Embraer had nothing on the table. “There is no proposal, but the IAF chief, along with his delegation, have come here to see the aircraft,” an Embraer official told European Security & Defence at the show.

Forty-three months later the Brazilian manufacturer has a partner, a maintenance plan and a city. On 1 October 2026 Embraer and the Mahindra Group said, in a joint release datelined Mumbai, that they have identified Nagpur in Maharashtra for a potential C-390 Millennium final assembly line, and that the state government has already allotted the land.

The plant comes with one condition. India must select the C-390 in the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) competition and place an order. Bids in that contest are due on 2 December, according to ThePrint, so the partners have shown their industrial hand two months before the deadline.

Informazioni rapide

Annunciato — 1 October 2026, joint Embraer–Mahindra release datelined Mumbai

Proposed site — Nagpur, Maharashtra; land allotted by the state government

Condizione — C-390 selected in the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) contest and an order placed

MTA requirement — 60 aircraft, about ₹1 trillion; 12 fly-away, 48 built in India; 18–30 t payload

Main rival — Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems with the C-130J-30 Super Hercules

C-390 in numbers — 26 t (57,300 lb) payload, two IAE V2500-E5 turbofans, 470 kn (870 km/h) cruise

Bids due — 2 December 2026, according to ThePrint

What Embraer and Mahindra actually announced

The release is carefully worded. It describes a “potential” C-390 assembly line that would cover aircraft assembly, systems integration, manufacturing engineering and local supply-chain development. If the contract is won, Indian aerospace companies would be brought in progressively for manufacturing, aftermarket services, training and lifecycle support.

What it leaves out is just as telling. Neither company has disclosed the plant’s size, investment or production capacity, Air Data News noted, and The Times of India pointed out that no final investment decision or production timeline has been announced. Nor have the partners said where in Nagpur the allotted plot lies.

Nagpur is the fourth step in a sequence. Embraer Defense & Security and Mahindra Defence Systems signed a memorandum of understanding at the Brazilian embassy in New Delhi on 9 February 2024. A Strategic Cooperation Agreement followed on 17 October 2025, signed as Embraer opened its national office in the capital’s Aerocity district. On 19 February 2026 the partners announced plans for an Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capability, from base and heavy maintenance to component overhaul and avionics support.

“As we work with Embraer on the C-390 Millennium, we are preparing the industrial ecosystem required to support the programme at scale. Nagpur offers a compelling opportunity for such a capability, and we are very grateful to the Government of Maharashtra on expeditiously allotting the land in Nagpur and helping with the related requirements.”

Vinod Sahay — Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra Group (joint Embraer–Mahindra release, 1 October 2026)

Why Nagpur

Nagpur lies about 680 km (420 miles) east of Mumbai, close to the geographic centre of India. Its aviation industry clusters around MIHAN, the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur, which pairs the airport with a special economic zone.

Aircraft structures are already built there. Dassault Reliance Aerospace began work at MIHAN in 2017, and in June 2025 Dassault and Reliance announced a Falcon 2000 final assembly line in Nagpur, aiming to fly the first Indian-built example in 2028, The Hindu reported. MIHAN also hosts a widebody MRO built by Boeing and later handed to Air India, plus an AAR-Indamer MRO for commercial aircraft.

For Mahindra it would be a step up. Its aerostructures business builds fuselage parts for Airbus at Narasapura, near Bengaluru. Nagpur would add final assembly and systems integration of a complete military airlifter.

US and Portuguese personnel guide an M142 HIMARS down the rear ramp of a Portuguese Air Force KC-390 Millennium at Ramstein Air Base — US and Portuguese personnel guide an M142 HIMARS out of a Portuguese Air Force KC-390 during cold load training at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on 15 July 2024. Photo: U.S. Air Force / Airman 1st Class Dylan Myers, public domain

Sixty aircraft, two serious bidders

India’s Ministry of Defence issued the MTA request for proposals on 12 August 2026: 60 aircraft worth about ₹1 trillion (more than US$10 billion), with payloads between 18 and 30 t (39,700 to 66,100 lb). Twelve would arrive in fly-away condition and 48 would be built in India through a joint venture between the foreign manufacturer and an Indian company. The winner replaces the Antonov An-32, which began entering IAF service in 1984.

The rival team is Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems with the C-130J-30 Super Hercules in Block 8.1.2 configuration: twelve from Marietta, Georgia, and 48 from India. The IAF has flown the type for some 15 years and has twelve in service, and Tata and Lockheed already build C-130J empennages in Hyderabad, more than 200 so far. Airbus had offered the 37 t A400M, but ThePrint reported on 28 September that it has dropped out.

Embraer’s own India pitch film for the C-390 Millennium, published as Aero India 2025 opened in Bengaluru.

Tonnes, pallets and engines

Embraer sells payload and speed. The C-390 lifts up to 26 t (57,300 lb) on two IAE V2500-E5 turbofans and cruises at 470 kn (870 km/h), Mach 0.8; with the full 26 t aboard, its range is about 2,000 km (1,080 nmi).

Lockheed argues that the stretched C-130J-30 carries 22 t (48,500 lb), not the 18 to 19 t often quoted, fits eight standard pallets to the C-390’s seven, and keeps four engines for redundancy at hot, high airfields. Both payload figures are the manufacturers’ own.

“When you think about moving cargo, it is really a math problem, the amount of items you need to move over a specific period of time.”

Robert Toth — Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, Air Mobility and Maritime Missions, Lockheed Martin (ThePrint, 28 September 2026)

One reported requirement is harder to argue around. According to The Tribune, the hold should be able to take loads such as India’s 25 t (55,100 lb) Zorawar light tank. On paper, that sits under the C-390’s 26 t ceiling and over the 22 t Lockheed claims for its stretched Hercules.

From a plot of land to a production line

Abroad, the C-390 has momentum: Colombia became the 13th country to select it in August 2026, and the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan received their first aircraft in July and September. For scale, FlightGlobal reports that Embraer’s line at Gavião Peixoto will deliver six aircraft in 2026, rising to ten a year by 2030. Forty-eight Indian-built airframes would equal almost five years of that future Brazilian rate.

In India, bids lead to field trials, cost negotiations and only then a contract, The Tribune reports, and deliveries must begin within 36 months of signature, according to Asian Military Review. In 2023 Embraer had an aircraft on a static line and no proposal. Now it has a bid partner, an MRO plan and a plot in Maharashtra, all waiting on one verdict.

Sources: Embraer, 1 October 2026; Mahindra Group, 1 October 2026; Business Standard (PTI), 1 October 2026; Business Today, 1 October 2026; Air Data News, 1 October 2026; FlightGlobal, October 2026; The Times of India, 2 October 2026; The Hitavada, 2 October 2026; aeroTELEGRAPH, 2 October 2026; IDRW, 2 October 2026; Swarajya, 2 October 2026; ThePrint, 28 September 2026; Armada International, 27 August 2026; Asian Military Review, 17 August 2026 and 16 February 2024; The Tribune, 12 August 2026 and 17 October 2025; The Hindu, 12 August 2026 and 18 June 2025; Embraer, 4 August 2026; AeroTime, 19 February 2026; Australian Defence Magazine, February 2026; Mahindra Group, 17 October 2025; Embraer, 9 February 2024; European Security & Defence, 17 February 2023; Wikipedia (Embraer C-390 Millennium; C-390 orders and deliveries; MIHAN; Mahindra Aerospace; Zorawar); U.S. Air Force, 15 July 2024

Domande frequenti

Where will the Embraer C-390 Millennium be assembled in India?

Embraer and the Mahindra Group have identified Nagpur, Maharashtra, for a potential C-390 Millennium final assembly line, and the Maharashtra government has allotted the land. The plant would only be built if India selects the C-390 in the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft competition and places an order. Its size, investment and production capacity have not been disclosed.

Is the Nagpur C-390 assembly line a confirmed project?

No. The Nagpur C-390 assembly line announced on 1 October 2026 is conditional. Embraer and Mahindra say it depends on the Government of India selecting the C-390 Millennium and placing an order under the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft programme. No final investment decision or production timeline has been announced, and bids in the contest are due on 2 December 2026, according to ThePrint.

What is the Indian Air Force Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) programme?

The MTA programme is India’s competition for 60 military transport aircraft worth about 1 trillion rupees, meant to replace the Antonov An-32. The request for proposals was issued on 12 August 2026. Twelve aircraft would arrive in fly-away condition and 48 would be built in India through a joint venture between the foreign manufacturer and an Indian company, with payloads of 18 to 30 tonnes.

Which aircraft are competing with the Embraer C-390 in the Indian MTA contest?

The Embraer C-390 Millennium, offered with Mahindra, faces the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules, offered with Tata Advanced Systems in Block 8.1.2 configuration. Airbus had offered the larger A400M, but ThePrint reported on 28 September 2026 that Airbus has dropped out. The Indian Air Force already flies twelve C-130J-30s.

How much can the Embraer C-390 Millennium carry compared with the C-130J-30?

Embraer rates the C-390 Millennium at up to 26 tonnes (57,300 lb) of payload, carried on two IAE V2500-E5 turbofans at a 470-knot cruise. Lockheed Martin says the stretched C-130J-30 carries 22 tonnes (48,500 lb), not the 18 to 19 tonnes often quoted, and fits eight standard pallets to the C-390’s seven. Both figures are the manufacturers’ own.

When did Embraer and Mahindra start working together on the C-390?

Embraer Defense & Security and Mahindra Defence Systems signed a memorandum of understanding on 9 February 2024 at the Brazilian embassy in New Delhi. A Strategic Cooperation Agreement followed on 17 October 2025, plans for an Indian C-390 maintenance, repair and overhaul capability on 19 February 2026, and the Nagpur site announcement on 1 October 2026.