From the Newsroom
São Paulo – Brazilian aircraft producer Embraer announced today (3) that they won a tender for the supply of aircraft to the United States Army and Navy. The company is going to produce aircraft in the ERJ 145 platform for use in a battlefield vigilance system called Aerial Common Sensor (ACS). The Brazilian company won the tender as part of a consortium led by US company Lockheed Martin.
The contract forecasts that companies in the consortium will deliver five intelligence, vigilance, and reconnaissance systems for the value of US$ 879 million up to the beginning of 2006. In 20 years, they may sell up to US$ 7 billion for use in the US defence system. The ACS system will replace the current Guardrail/Common Sensor and Airborne Reconnaissance Low aircraft used by the Army, and the fleet of EP-3 used by the Navy.
"The ERJ 145 platform has already established an impressive record of trustworthiness, easy operation, and safety, which, together with its low purchase and operation cost, make the aircraft especially attractive for special applications like the ACS program. Embraer is very pleased with being included in this team," stated company president Maurício Botelho. According to the executive, the contract has stimulated the company to progress with its plans of building a new assembly line in Jacksonville, Florida.
Embraer has already put over 800 ERJ 145 platform aircraft in operation, and they have accumulated over 5.5 million flying hours. They are already used in corporate and defence aviation. In June this year, the Brazilian company had 920 firm orders and 446 purchase options for the ERJ 145 family, which includes the ERJ 135, ERJ 140, ERJ 145, and ERJ 145 XR aircraft. The aeroplanes can seat between 37 and 50 people and fly around 2,800 hours a year.
In a statement to the press, Lockheed Martin, which leads the winning consortium, stated that Embraer aircraft were identified as the most appropriate for the project due to their low operating cost and to the worldwide technical service.
Embraer and Lockheed
Embraer, which has head offices in the city of São José dos Campos, in the southeastern state of São Paulo, develops and produces aircraft for commercial, corporate, and defence aviation. The company maintains offices and technical service departments in Australia, China, France, Singapore, and the United States. Embraer is one of the largest exporters in Brazil and employs around 14,000 people. The company firm order portfolio is currently at US$ 10.5 billion.
Lockheed Martin is based in the North American city of Bethesda, Maryland, and operates in research and development of systems, products, and advanced technology services. Apart from Embraer, they will provide products and services in the consortium which includes Argon Engineering, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Harris, L-3 Communications, and Raytheon.
