Cobham bags fuel tank contract with Embraer

Defence technology supplier Cobham has won a contract with Embraer Defense and Security to supply the Auxiliary Fuselage Fuel Tank for the KC-390 tanker aircraft.

The $30m contract will enhance the aircraft's core mission capabilities, including increased range for search and rescue operations and maximised fuel offload for air-to-air refuelling. af

The launch customer for the aircraft is the Brazilian Air Force, with significant additional ordered expected in the future. The aircraft with enter service in 2015.

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Iain Gibson, Vice President of Cobham Mission Equipment, said: "This award consolidates our position on the aircraft, building on the earlier selection of our wing aerial refuelling pods, nose radome and aerial refuelling probe."

The firm added that "Cobham has delivered more than one million tanks of all kinds to customers around the world and will supply Embraer with a state-of-the-art tank system optimised for weight, while still providing for quick removal and re-installation."

Last year the company was awarded a contract with Embraer worth more than $60m to develop and supply the KC-390 programme with Wing Aerial Refuelling Pods. It has also been selected to provide the aircraft with aerial refuelling probes and to design and manufacture the aircraft's nose-cones.

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