Netherlands Secures C-390 Flight Simulators

Embraer has contracted with Rheinmetall to supply C-390 flight simulators to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The Düsseldorf, Germany-based technology group will be furnishing a Full Flight and Mission Simulator as well as a Cargo Handling Station Trainer. Production of the modern simulators will begin immediately, with delivery scheduled for the end of 2026. The order value is in the double-digit million Euro range and was booked in the first quarter of 2025.

Rheinmetall C-390 simulators are used to train aircraft crews and ground personnel for the Embraer C-390 transport aircraft. The Full Flight and Mission

Simulator (FFMS) meets the Level D standard and satisfies all international qualification standards. It enables crews to be trained under normal and emergency conditions, military operations to be practised and more than 350 malfunctions to be carried out. Moreover, the company believes it is easy to maintain and offers a high level of user comfort. The Dutch model is the first to use a new image generator.

The Cargo Handling Station Trainer (CHST) enables comprehensive training of relating to cargo handling procedures for flight crews, loadmasters and other

users. It uses the latest visual display technology to provide an interior view of the cargo compartment and an

exterior view of the entire aircraft.

For Rheinmetall, the FFMS ordered as part of the C-390 programme is the third major order worldwide and the second in Europe. Prior to the Dutch armed forces, Embraer itself and the Portuguese Air Force had already acquired an FFMS.

The modern Embraer C-390 transport aircraft made its maiden flight on 3 February 2015 and is in use or being introduced in Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and South Korea. In view of the growing number of C-390 customers in Europe, Embraer and Rheinmetall are considering establishing a C-390 training centre in Europe to provide even better training support to existing and future C-390 customers. Currently, there is an Embraer C-390 training centre in the Brazilian state of São Paulo with an FFMS and a CHST, where Brazilian, Portuguese and Hungarian C-390 crews currently undergo their training.