Embraer has appointed Fokker Services Group as an Authorized Service Center for the C-390 Millennium, giving the independent aerospace services provider the maintenance and support role for the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s new military transport fleet as it enters service.

Embraer announced the appointment in a press release dated November 3, 2026, from Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. According to the release, Fokker Services Group will help bring the Dutch C-390 fleet into operational service and will provide on-site technical and operational assistance, including Field Service Representatives (FSRs), to support a smooth entry into service, high availability and mission readiness. The release does not give the contract’s duration or value.

Advertisement

What the service center role covers

Under the appointment, Fokker Services Group will deliver maintenance and support for the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s C-390 Millennium aircraft. The release focuses on the entry into service phase, with on-site technical and operational assistance that includes Field Service Representatives.

“We are proud to be appointed as an Authorized Service Center for the C-390 Millennium,” said Roland van Dijk, CEO of Fokker Services Group. He said the role recognizes the experience and capabilities of the company’s teams.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership with Fokker Services Group,” said Frederico Lemos, Chief Commercial Officer of Embraer Defense & Security. Lemos said the milestone reflects customer confidence in Embraer and is intended to create long-term value in the Netherlands.

Fokker Services Group operates five facilities across Europe, Asia and the Americas, according to the release. It serves regional, narrow-body and wide-body platforms in the commercial, VIP, cargo and defense markets, with services that include modifications and engineering, component and material services, airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) including lease transitions and painting, and aircraft completion and conversion for executive, VVIP and special mission aircraft.

Several details that operators and maintenance shops would look for are not in the release: which Fokker Services Group facility will handle the work, how many Field Service Representatives will be assigned, and when the support begins. The release also does not say whether the appointment extends to the Austrian and Swedish aircraft bought under the Dutch-led contract described below.

Where the Dutch C-390 program stands

The C-390 succeeds the C-130 in the Royal Netherlands Air Force, according to the Dutch Ministry of Defence. In a news release dated November 11, 2025, the ministry said Embraer had started building the first C-390 for the Netherlands. The Netherlands, Austria and Sweden are buying 13 aircraft together: 5 for the Netherlands, 4 for Austria and 4 for Sweden. The Netherlands is the lead nation, and the other participants are joining on the Dutch contract and its conditions.

The ministry said production takes about 2 years. Building the airframe takes 8 months, followed by the installation of systems such as the flight management system and self-protection systems, and Dutch companies in Woensdrecht will complete the aircraft. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered at the end of 2027 and the last in 2029, according to the ministry.

AirPro News has followed the Dutch program as it takes shape, from Embraer’s agreements with Dutch companies to the design review for the aeromedical system and Marshall’s extended C-130H support contract, which covers the current fleet until the C-390 arrives.

The aircraft Fokker will support

Embraer describes the C-390 Millennium as the most modern military transport in its class. According to the manufacturer, it carries 26 tons of payload, which Embraer says is more than other medium-sized military transports, flies at 470 knots and can operate from temporary or unpaved runways.

Embraer lists the aircraft’s missions as cargo and troop transport, airdrops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian work. When fitted with quick-installation air-to-air refueling (AAR) equipment, it can act as a tanker or as a receiver, according to the release.

Embraer, headquartered in Brazil and founded in 1969, has Commercial and Executive aviation, Defense & Security, and Agricultural Aviation businesses. The company says it has delivered more than 9,000 aircraft.

The Airbus A320 ATRA fitted with a Eurofighter nose has completed its commissioning flights at the Airbus site in Manching, Germany, and is now operational as the flying test bed for the Eurofighter’s new E-Scan radar. Airbus said on November 6, 2026, that the commissioning flights were the final step in the validation phase.

The aircraft, owned by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), carries the Eurofighter Common Radar System Mk1 that will equip new Eurofighters for Germany and Spain. Testing the radar on an airliner instead of a fighter lets engineers watch the hardware and software in real time from workstations in the cabin, and Airbus said in January 2025 that the A320 has a shorter clearance process and longer endurance than a Eurofighter.

Advertisement

Which Eurofighters get the radar

“The upcoming Eurofighters of the German Quadriga and Tranche 5 as well as the Spanish Halcón programmes will be equipped with a new radar called the Eurofighter Common Radar System Mk1,” said Erik Lorch, Head of the E-Scan Mk1 Programme at Airbus. Airbus said the current focus is on equipping these jets, with retrofits of Eurofighters already in service also planned.

The radar is an active electronically scanned array (AESA), also known as E-Scan. “This radar greatly enhances the capabilities of the Eurofighter in both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations,” Lorch said.

Radar maker HENSOLDT, which developed the ECRS Mk1 with Indra, said in October 2025 that about 200 of the radars will be delivered to the German and Spanish Air Forces in total. HENSOLDT announced at the time that NETMA and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH had signed a contract for 20 new Eurofighter Tranche 5 aircraft for the German Air Force, which will carry the radar as the Quadriga fleet already does. AirPro News has reported on the German order for 20 new Eurofighters.

How the A320 was converted

To carry the Eurofighter nose, the A320 fuselage was reinforced and hundreds of metres of data cables were laid, according to Airbus. A liquid and air cooling system was installed to regulate the temperature of the radar, and the cabin holds several workstations where specialists see everything the radar provides to the pilot as well as a full view of what is happening under the nose.

“It is a distinguished platform that has already spent years flying as a research aircraft,” said Sebastian Ritz, who leads the A320 Flying Test Bed Programme at Airbus Defence and Space. “We can monitor how the hardware performs and also test new software versions or features,” he said. “The insights we generate will inform and accelerate the maturation and further development of the system.”

The modified aircraft first flew on January 21, 2025, over DLR’s airfield in Braunschweig, Germany. In its story on that flight, Airbus said the nose had been developed and assembled specifically for the test aircraft by its engineers in Manching. Engineers and mechanics from Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Commercial Aircraft designed the new front section and reinforced the airframe, and all modifications followed the procedures of the type-certification holder, Airbus Commercial Aircraft in Toulouse. That first flight with the Eurofighter nose was made without an active radar, to test basic airworthiness.

Why test a fighter radar on an airliner

Airbus E-Scan radar project manager Thomas Hirsch said in January 2025 that the aircraft was being operated with DLR and the German Armed Forces “to test a new radar for the Eurofighter and bring it to maturity.” He added: “The A320 ATRA has a significantly shorter clearance process and can stay in the air longer than a Eurofighter.” Airbus said airborne testing on an A320 starts earlier, runs faster and lasts longer than it would on a Eurofighter, which significantly speeds up radar development.

After the first flight, the radar went through extensive ground tests before the commissioning flights. “During the recent commissioning flights, we confirmed that the aircraft and the radar also perform effectively in the air,” Ritz said. “This was the final step in the validation phase, and the E-Scan Mk1 flying test bed is now operational.”

Airbus said the A320 ATRA, short for Advanced Technology Research Aircraft, will now become a regular presence on the flight line at Manching as development of the Eurofighter’s E-Scan radar continues. The company has not published a schedule for the remaining test flights.

The U.S. Air Force has completed the final high-speed sled test of the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk escape system, a simulated ejection at 550 knots effective airspeed that tested a redesigned canopy fracturing pattern and a modernized ejection seat sequencer. The run closes the program’s sled test matrix and moves the trainer toward final qualification of its escape system.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) said in an article published on November 4, 2026, that the T-7 Program Office had executed the test. The 846th Test Squadron conducted the test at the Holloman High Speed Test Track at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, on October 7, 2026. AFLCMC called the test a critical milestone in certifying the trainer’s aircrew safety systems.

Advertisement

What the final sled test checked

The primary objective was to validate two safety enhancements: a redesigned canopy fracturing system pattern and a modernized ejection seat sequencer, according to AFLCMC. The test used an anthropomorphic test device representing the lightest occupant in the pilot candidate spectrum, which the Air Force said is meant to ensure that the escape system protects the full range of future aviators.

An initial review of high-speed video indicated that the modernized seat sequencer functioned as designed, deploying the stabilizing drogue parachute for an extended duration. AFLCMC said this deployment timing stabilizes the seat during separation, significantly lowering peak loads on the neck and spine and giving a smoother descent. Seat trajectory, acceleration and biometric sensor data remain under formal engineering analysis, so the result is not yet a final qualification.

“Completing this final sled test represents a major achievement in our rigorous qualification process.”

That was Col. Robert Volesky, AFLCMC’s T-7A System Program Manager. “Aircrew safety is our highest priority,” he said. AFLCMC said the event caps a comprehensive test matrix of static and dynamic sled runs, paving the way toward final qualification of the escape system and supporting future production aircraft deliveries.

How the escape system reached this point

The October run follows an earlier high-speed test of the redesigned canopy and seat sequencer. In an article published on May 2, 2025, AFLCMC said the 846th Test Squadron at Holloman ran a high-speed test of the new escape system on April 16, 2025, at 450 knots effective airspeed (KEAS), and that the system met all test objectives.

That test focused on a redesigned canopy ejection system and a new seat sequencer. According to the 2025 article, the redesigned canopy is meant to break apart in a safer pattern and protected the test mannequins from shattered glass, while the modernized sequencer deployed the stabilizing parachute for a longer duration to reduce the risk of neck and spine injury. Initial results then showed the system protected both lighter-weight and heavier-weight mannequins. AFLCMC said at the time that another test was scheduled for August.

Compared with the April 2025 run, the final test was conducted at 550 knots rather than 450 knots effective airspeed, with a test device representing the lightest occupant in the pilot candidate range, according to the two AFLCMC articles.

Production and what comes next

The escape system work runs alongside the move into production. On May 4, 2026, Boeing said the U.S. Air Force had announced that the T-7A reached Milestone C in its development life cycle, which allows the program to proceed to low-rate initial production of aircraft for instructor and student training. “Milestone C positions us to start low-rate initial production this year,” said Andy Adams, vice president and program manager of Boeing T-7 Programs.

In 2018, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $9.2 billion contract for 351 T-7A advanced trainers, 46 simulators and support, according to Boeing, which builds the aircraft at its St. Louis, Missouri site. The T-7A replaces the T-38 trainer, which Boeing said has been in service since the 1960s. AFLCMC said the Red Hawk is designed to train pilots and weapon systems officers for 4th, 5th and emerging 6th-generation fighters and bombers, working with an advanced Ground Based Training System.

The next step named by AFLCMC is final qualification of the escape system, once the engineering analysis of the October data is complete. The Air Force did not give a date for that qualification or for the first production deliveries.