On July 16, 2026, the Czech Air Force took delivery of the first of 2 C-390 MILLENNIUM multi-mission transport aircraft from Embraer, 20 months after contract signature.

The agreement, signed on October 25, 2024 and worth approximately €450 million, covers the 2 airframes together with aircrew and maintainer training, an initial spares package, ground support equipment, air-to-air refueling (AAR) roll-on/roll-off kits, and the MAFFS II aerial firefighting system. The second aircraft is expected to arrive by 2027, and Prague has already signaled interest in expanding the fleet beyond the initial pair.

Both aircraft will be based at Prague-Kbely with the 24th Air Transportation Base (24th ATB), alongside the 6 C-295s and 2 A-319CJs already in service. The C-295 fleet — currently split between 4 C-295Ms in service since 2010 and 2 winglet-equipped C-295MWs delivered in 2021 — is undergoing an upgrade program running through 2028, at the end of which all 6 airframes will be brought to a common C-295MW standard. The C-390 introduces a class of airlift the Czech Air Force has never previously operated, more than doubling the payload of the C-295 and adding organic air-to-air refueling capability for the first time.

Czech industry is embedded in the C-390 program well beyond the domestic order. Aero Vodochody manufactures the wing leading edges and rear fuselage sections for the entire production line, not just the Czech aircraft, while LOM Praha handles in-country maintenance and lifecycle support. At contract signature Prague was the 4th NATO nation to select the C-390 after Portugal, Hungary, and the Netherlands; the program's NATO footprint has since expanded further, with Sweden, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Austria all now on the customer list. The type is emerging as the reference platform for medium tactical airlift across the Alliance's smaller and mid-sized air forces, in a segment long dominated by the C-130 and, for the lower end, the C-27J and C-295.

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