The first of five Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP; Portuguese Air Force) Embraer KC-390 Millennium tanker-transport aircraft - registration PT-ZDK (c/n 390000011) - touched down at the type's future home base, Beja Air Base (AB) in Portugal, on October 16.
Currently registered as PT-ZDK, the aircraft will wear the FAP serial 26901 after it enters operational Portuguese service. It departed Gavião Peixoto in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 15 and was escorted by a pair of FAP-operated Lockheed Martin F-16AM (MLU) Fighting Falcons as it arrived at Beja the following day.
The aircraft will soon undergo NATO equipment tests and integration trials under the scrutiny of the National Aeronautical Authority. Once it passes these tests it will be formally handed over to the FAP. With five aircraft ordered in total, the KC-390 will eventually replace the FAP's ageing Lockheed C-130H Hercules fleet, which is currently operated by Esquadra 501 'Bisontes (Bisons)' at Monjita AB in Lisbon.
