Embraer picks Thales for KC-390 navigation

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NEUILLY, France, May 7 (UPI) -- The KC-390 military transport being developed by Embraer Defense and Security of Brazil are to be equipped with navigation systems from Thales of France.

Under the contract awarded, Thales will provide its High Performance Inertial Reference system as well as the GPS for the aircraft, which is being built for the Brazilian Air Force and which is scheduled for initial delivery in 2016.

"Thales HPIRS and GPS will provide unique capability to the KC-390 and will contribute to the success of the program," said Eduardo Bonini Santos Pinto, senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer of Embraer Defence and Security. "After a rigorous selection process, Thales solution was clearly the best one for the KC-390."

The KC-390 is a twin-engine, jet-powered transport with a cargo capacity of about 23,000 tons. It is scheduled to begin flight testing in 2014.

Thales says its inertial navigation system and GPS, in addition to providing state-of-the-art navigation, also is designed to lower its life-cycle and maintenance costs.

Additional details of the system, as well as the value of the contract awarded by Embraer, were not disclosed.