Embraer and Polish aerospace maintenance provider Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 2 S.A. (WZL-2) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish local maintenance and support capabilities for the KC-390 Millennium. The partnership directly supports the Brazilian manufacturer’s ongoing bid to supply Poland’s future multi-role military-aircraft and aerial refueling fleet.

The agreement was finalized on June 25, 2026, at Embraer facilities in São José dos Campos, Brazil. According to the official press release, the framework encompasses a broad range of industrial cooperation, including services and support, aircraft completion and conversion, external painting, and system integration for the KC-390 platform. WZL-2 operates as a key entity within the state-owned Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) Group.

Strategic positioning in Poland’s transport competition

The Polish Ministry of National Defence is currently evaluating options to replace and expand its transport aviation capabilities. The KC-390 Millennium is competing against platforms such as the Airbus A400M Atlas and the Airbus A330 MRTT. To strengthen its proposal, Embraer has systematically built a network of local industrial partnerships since late 2025.

In December 2025, Embraer signed five initial Memoranda of Understanding with Polish defense companies in Warsaw. This was followed by a formal presentation of the KC-390 Millennium to WZL-2 personnel in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in March 2026. The March event allowed local engineers and technicians to evaluate the aircraft and outline potential maintenance activities, culminating in the formal agreement signed on June 25.

Building a local industrial ecosystem

The collaboration aims to ensure that if Poland selects the KC-390, the domestic defense industry will have the sovereign capability to maintain and support the fleet. WZL-2 President of the Management Board Jakub Gazda stated that the goal is to develop industrial and maintenance capabilities in Poland to support the operation of the aircraft while strengthening the country’s broader aerospace sector.

“We believe that combining Embraer’s experience with WZL No. 2’s capabilities will bring tangible benefits to both the Polish Armed Forces and the entire Polish defense industry,” Gazda said in the company statement.

Douglas Lobo, Vice-President of Customer Support and Aftermarket Sales for Embraer Services and Support, noted that the partnership reinforces the company strategy of fostering local industrial cooperation. Lobo indicated the collaboration will contribute to job creation, skills development, and technology transfer, forming the foundation of a long-term industrial ecosystem in Poland.

KC-390 Millennium capabilities and recent momentum

The Embraer C-390 Millennium features a maximum concentrated payload capacity of 26 tonnes and a maximum cruising speed of 870 km/h. The platform has secured several recent operational and maintenance milestones in the weeks leading up to the Polish agreement.

On June 18, 2026, Embraer signed a comprehensive service and support agreement to enhance the operational availability of the Brazilian Air Force KC-390 fleet. Shortly after, on June 23, 2026, Embraer and its Portuguese subsidiary OGMA concluded the first scheduled maintenance on a C-390 Millennium operated by the Hungarian Air Force.

AirPro News analysis

We view Embraer’s formalization of the WZL-2 partnership as a necessary and expected maneuver in the European defense procurement landscape. Sovereign maintenance capability is a baseline requirement for NATO members modernizing their strategic airlift fleets. By locking in a maintenance framework with a primary PGZ subsidiary, Embraer effectively neutralizes one of the primary advantages typically held by European competitors like Airbus. The progression from initial memorandums in late 2025 to a structured industrial agreement demonstrates that Embraer is treating the Polish transport competition as a high-priority campaign.

Sources: Embraer

A production representative test aircraft of the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat is integrating with crewed fighter platforms during Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, marking the uncrewed system’s first known participation in a multinational large-force military exercise.

The deployment, announced by Pacific Air Forces on June 24, 2026, allows the joint force to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures for uncrewed-crewed teaming in the Indo-Pacific theater. The aircraft underwent preflight checks and taxi tests at Rota on June 21, 2026, ahead of defensive and offensive counter-air missions alongside U.S. and allied forces.

Operational integration and human-machine teaming

The integration of the MQ-28 into Valiant Shield represents a milestone in the operational development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The exercise provides a testing ground for human-machine teaming, a concept central to future air combat strategies being developed by the Department of the Air Force and allied partners.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Daniel Pesich, the Experimental Operations Unit collaborative combat aircraft detachment officer in charge, emphasized the strategic value of the deployment in the official announcement.

“By advancing human-machine teaming, we are increasing our power projection while building a more resilient, capable, and lethal joint force,” Pesich said.

While the exact command-and-control arrangement for the MQ-28 during the exercise was not explicitly detailed, Pacific Air Forces noted that a human remains in the loop for all critical decisions. The exercise pairs the uncrewed platform with traditional crewed assets to test the practical application of autonomous systems in a contested environment.

Preceding flight tests and stealth validation

The Valiant Shield deployment follows a series of recent testing milestones for the Boeing Defence Australia-developed aircraft. On May 27, 2026, Boeing announced the MQ-28 had completed three operational flight tests at the Point Mugu Sea Range at U.S. Naval Base Ventura County in California.

These flights marked the aircraft’s first international operation in allied airspace, validating its autonomous operations and rapid deployment capabilities. Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 global program director at Boeing, stated the Point Mugu activity was designed to mature the aircraft and demonstrate operations from allied locations to inform future exportability.

Subsequently, on June 1, 2026, Boeing confirmed it had validated the stealth performance of the MQ-28 through radar cross section testing. This testing verified the effectiveness of the aircraft’s design and material choices in minimizing radar detection, a critical requirement for the defensive and offensive counter-air missions it is tasked with simulating during Valiant Shield.

AirPro News analysis

We view the rapid succession of the Point Mugu flight tests, radar cross section validation, and subsequent deployment to Valiant Shield as a clear indicator of the accelerating pace of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. Moving a production representative test aircraft from a controlled test range in California to a complex, multinational exercise in the Mariana Islands within a single month demonstrates high confidence in the platform’s baseline autonomy and logistical footprint. The emphasis on human-in-the-loop decision-making during Valiant Shield suggests the current focus is on refining the tactical interface and communication links between crewed fighters and uncrewed assets, rather than testing fully autonomous kinetic combat capability.

Sources: Pacific Air Forces

Skyryse and Robinson Helicopter Company have entered a formal partnership to develop a Group 4 unmanned aircraft system for defense applications, integrating the SkyOS fly-by-wire system into the Robinson R66 platform. The June 24, 2026, announcement builds on a series of technical and financial milestones for El Segundo, California-based Skyryse, including a $300 million Series C funding round and the commencement of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for-credit flight testing earlier in the year.

The core of this technology is the Skyryse One, a heavily modified Robinson R66 that replaces traditional mechanical flight controls with a digital operating system. According to company publications, the integration of SkyOS is designed to reduce pilot workload and introduce automated safety features to the light helicopter market.

Replacing Mechanical Controls with SkyOS

In technical documents published by Skyryse, the company detailed the extensive modifications required to convert a standard Robinson R66 into the Skyryse One. The retrofit removes more than 100 traditional mechanical parts, including pull tubes, hydraulic systems, the cyclic, the collective, and anti-torque pedals. These are replaced by a single control stick and dual touchscreens.

By eliminating these mechanical linkages, Skyryse states the fly-by-wire system removes 324 potential failure points from the aircraft. The underlying Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine engine remains unchanged from the standard R66, which was originally certified by the FAA in 2010.

The SkyOS system introduces several automated flight capabilities. These include dynamic envelope protection, hover assist, and automated autorotation. Skyryse previously demonstrated the automated autorotation capability in 2023, setting a recognized world record for the maneuver.

Skyryse has set an introductory price of $1,800,000 for the Skyryse One, compared to approximately $1,400,000 for a standard Robinson R66 equipped with optional upgrades. The company anticipates the Skyryse One will be the only helicopter capable of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations priced under two million dollars.

Expanding into Defense with Group 4 UAS

The June 2026 partnership between Skyryse and Torrance, California-based Robinson Helicopter Company pivots the SkyOS technology toward military applications. The companies are collaborating to produce a Group 4 unmanned aircraft system (UAV) based on the R66 airframe.

The uncrewed platform is intended to support a variety of military missions, including collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) operations, air-launched effects (ALE), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) profiles.

“Defense agencies need autonomous aircraft that are reliable, affordable and available now, not years from now. Robinson gives us the production infrastructure to deliver at scale and at a cost point that meets real-world, time-critical needs.”

David Smith, President and CEO of Robinson Helicopter Company, noted in the joint press release that manufacturing the SkyOS-powered UAS represents a natural extension of the manufacturer‘s core competency in producing reliable aircraft at scale.

FAA Testing and Series C Funding

The defense partnership follows significant regulatory and financial progress for the civil Skyryse One program. On February 17, 2026, Skyryse announced it had received approval to enter for-credit flight testing with the FAA. This marks a critical phase in securing a supplemental type certificate for the modified aircraft. The company previously received a Special Airworthiness Certificate for the first Skyryse One in October 2024.

Coinciding with the FAA testing milestone, Skyryse announced the closure of a $300 million Series C funding round in February 2026. The capital injection brought the company’s valuation to $1.15 billion. Skyryse stated the funds will be used to advance FAA certification efforts and scale the deployment of the SkyOS system.

AirPro News analysis

We note that adapting a certified, mass-produced light helicopter like the Robinson R66 into a Group 4 UAS offers defense agencies a lower-risk, lower-cost alternative to clean-sheet military drone programs. By leveraging Robinson’s established manufacturing infrastructure, Skyryse can bypass the production scaling challenges that typically hinder aerospace startups attempting to build new aircraft from scratch.

The dual-track approach of pursuing civil FAA certification for the piloted Skyryse One while simultaneously developing a military UAS provides the company with diversified revenue potential. If Skyryse successfully certifies the fly-by-wire system for general aviation, the removal of complex mechanical linkages could fundamentally alter maintenance schedules and operational costs for light helicopter operators. The $400,000 price premium over a standard R66 will likely be weighed by operators against the promised safety enhancements and the rare inclusion of IFR capabilities in this weight class.

Sources: Skyryse Technical Comparison