Uzbekistan gets its first C-390 military transport plane

Embraer presented Uzbekistan’s first C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft on September 10, 2026, making the country the first C-390 operator in Central Asia. The Brazilian manufacturer confirmed the milestone in a social media post, without disclosing further details of the handover.

Embraer had kept the Uzbek order under wraps for more than a year before naming the buyer. The company signed the deal on December 27, 2024, but listed the customer only as undisclosed until it identified Uzbekistan at the Singapore Airshow on February 3, 2026. The order covers two C-390 aircraft.

“We officially welcome the Republic of Uzbekistan to the group of C-390 operators as the Uzbekistan Air Force modernizes its transport capabilities,” Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, said when the order was disclosed in February.

The C-390 Millennium can carry a payload of up to 26 tonnes and cruise at speeds up to 470 knots (870 km/h or 541 mph), figures Embraer says put it ahead of other medium-sized military transport aircraft. The jet handles cargo and troop transport, airdrops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions, and it can operate from unpaved or short runways. A tanker variant, designated KC-390, adds aerial refueling.

The aircraft fills a gap in Uzbekistan’s air transport fleet. The Uzbek Air Force currently flies four Airbus C295M-W light transports alongside older Soviet-era Ilyushin Il-76TD heavy airlifters, and the C-390 sits between those two types in size and range. The acquisition follows other recent additions of Western equipment to the fleet, including Airbus H125 and H215 helicopters, as Uzbekistan has moved to diversify a fleet built mostly around Soviet-legacy aircraft.

Uzbekistan becomes the eleventh country to operate or order the C-390, joining Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia and Lithuania. Embraer designed the aircraft to be interoperable with NATO systems even though most of its customers to date have been NATO members or close partners.

Uzbekistan has also been diversifying its air force with equipment from China. State television confirmed in August 2026 that Uzbekistan had taken delivery of Chengdu J-10CE fighter jets, becoming the second foreign operator of the type after Pakistan. Uzbekistan had reportedly agreed to buy 24 of the fighters for around $1 billion, though the government has not confirmed the total number delivered or the contract’s final value.