Brazilian plane maker Embraer targets defense jet sales in visit to Mexico By Reuters

By Kylie Madry

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Brazilian plane maker Embraer sees Mexico as a key market for its Super Tucano and C-390 defense aircraft, the company’s chief said on Monday.

Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto said the world’s third-largest plane maker is in active talks with the Mexican government and has brought a C-390 to the country for demonstration flights.

The C-390 is known as a multi-mission aircraft and competes with Lockheed’s C-130.

“We think it can be a great solution for Mexico,” Gomes Neto told Reuters during a visit to Mexico ahead of the inauguration of incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum.

The executive did not say how many of each aircraft it was looking to sell to Mexico.

If Mexico were to commit to purchasing the lighter Super Tucano aircraft, which Gomes Neto has singled out for use as a training plane or for border surveillance, it would join other Latin American countries confirming orders in recent months.

Gomes Neto said he is also eyeing sales of business jets in Mexico, the world’s third-largest market for such planes.

“We expect to grow our fleet in Mexico by 11 percent over the next two years,” he said.

Embraer paid a $750 million order in June for 20 E2 jets to commercial airline Mexicana, which is run by Mexico’s military.

Gomes Neto dismissed analysts’ concerns about the deal’s stability given Mexico’s alleged failure to pay back a US contractor.

“We are working very closely with Mexicana, we really want this operation to be a great success to show the market how good the aircraft is,” he said.

The executive also said that Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena met with the firm earlier this year in Brazil and that she “was very positive about the future of Mexicana.”

“Embraer is looking for an advantageous situation to do business with Mexico,” he added.