Cobham Wins US$60m Initial Contract from Embraer

15 September 2011

Cobham Wins US$60m Initial Contract from Embraer to Provide Aerial Refuelling Systems for Brazilian KC-390 Tanker Aircraft

WIMBORNE, United Kingdom - Cobham has been selected to develop and supply the Wing Aerial Refuelling Pod for the KC-390 tanker aircraft under development by Brazil's Embraer and has received an order with an initial contract value in excess of US$60 million. Air refuelling operations will be a key tactical role of the KC-390 following its introduction into service, scheduled to commence in 2015.

Selection by Embraer follows a comprehensive competitive process and reflects Cobham's unrivalled experience in the design, development and delivery of air refuelling systems. Cobham will supply Embraer with one of its state-of-the-art air refuelling pods, specially modified to fit the KC-390. The system architecture will be tailored to meet the aircraft's air-to-air refuelling capability requirements, and enable refuelling of a range of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

Embraer's launch customer for the KC-390 is the Brazilian Air Force and it expects to secure significant additional orders from export customers.

Following the selection announcement, Iain Gibson, vice president of Cobham Mission Equipment said: "Cobham Mission Equipment is delighted with its selection by Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force to provide the wing air refuelling pod solution for the KC-390 following a rigorous competitive tendering process. This is an important and significant programme with a new customer and provides a platform for Cobham to further grow its business in Brazil. It also serves to underline Cobham's position as the world leader in providing air to air refuelling systems. We are confident that the wing pod solution for the KC-390, the basis of which has been designed and qualified to the latest and most stringent military requirements, will provide an optimum solution for the KC-390."

About Cobham Mission Equipment

Cobham Mission Equipment is a systems integration business that has been providing innovative solutions to its customers for over 75 years. The business is the market leader for air-to-air refueling (AAR), providing fifth generation 'nose to tail' solutions from the cockpit of the donor aircraft, to the tail of the receiver platform. More than 1,000 systems have been delivered for buddy-buddy refueling, tactical and strategic tanking for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, with Unmanned Air vehicle refueling development well advanced.

The 'nose to tail' AAR capability is complemented by a comprehensive 'wingtip to wingtip' offering covering a range of weapons carriage and release equipment, including missile launchers, cryogenic cooling for missile seekers, pneumatic missile fin actuation and wing store carriers, bomb ejection, defensive aids, chaff and flare systems.

Mission Equipment is also a systems solution provider in the field of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robot technology, providing a range of unmanned ground systems and robots serving international homeland security and military markets, with more than 700 systems delivered to 55 countries.

About Cobham

Cobham specialises in meeting the insatiable demand for data, connectivity and bandwidth in defence, security and commercial environments. Offering a technically diverse and innovative range of technologies and services, the Group protects lives and livelihoods, responding to customer needs with agility that differentiates it. The most important thing we build is trust. Employing more than 11,000 people on five continents, the Group has customers and partners in over 100 countries, with annual revenue of some £1.9bn / US$3 billion.

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