Embraer is expanding its partnerships with BAE Systems under memoranda of understanding signed on Tuesday during the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow. The goal: to explore defense and security applications for the Eve eVTOL and to collaborate on potential markets in the Middle East for the C-390 Millennium.

Embraer and BAE have signed a letter of intent with Eve Air Mobility to potentially order up to 150 of Eve's eVTOL vehicles to be used for defense and security applications, the companies announced on Tuesday. The companies separately signed an MoU to explore the possibility of collaboratively developing a variant of Eve's eVTOL to be used specifically for defense applications.

“Teams from BAE Systems and Embraer will continue working together to explore how the aircraft, designed for the urban mobility market, can provide cost-effective, sustainable, and adaptable capability as a defense variant,” said Jackson Schneider, president and chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security.

The companies are exploring a range of options that would allow such a vehicle to serve military markets in a cost-effective manner. Schneider cited possibilities ranging from special operations to medical evacuation. The vehicles hold a particular advantage in that they don’t require fuel, he noted.

“Our customers’ operating environment is increasingly complex and eVTOL is just one example of how we’re looking at emerging technologies, including those from the commercial market,” said Ian Muldowney, chief operating officer of BAE Systems Air.

As for the timing of such applications, Muldowney cautioned that “we don’t want to get ahead” of the commercial development. The MoU further cements plans that the two parties revealed in December regarding a potential defense variant of the Eve eVTOL.

In a separate announcement, BAE and Embraer said they have signed an MoU that paves the way for a strategic partnership that would enable Embraer to build on BAE Systems’ long-standing ties in the Middle East for opportunities for Embraer’s C-390 Millennium multirole military transport aircraft. The partnership particularly focuses on Saudia Arabia, but the companies are considering possibilities in other markets in the region. BAE supplies the primary flight controls for the twin-engine military transport.

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