Thai government buys four aircraft of the same model in less than two years

13:10 GMT, October 16, 2009 São José dos Campos | Embraer has signed a contract with the Royal Thai Navy for the sale of its second ERJ 135 jet. Added to the other two orders made by the Royal Thai Army, this is the fourth aircraft acquired by the Thai government in less than two years, all of which are the Long-Range (LR) version. This acquisition is included in Embraer’s firm order backlog for the third quarter of 2009.

“We are honored by the choice of the Royal Thai Navy to acquire a second ERJ 135 jet, confirming the suitability of this aircraft model to the needs of Thailand’s armed forces, and shows the confidence that they have in Embraer’s products in the official transportation segment,” said Acir Padilha, Embraer Vice President, Marketing and Sales – Defense Market. “As a result, we are gradually increasing and consolidating our presence in Thailand.”

The first deal between Embraer and the Thai government was announced in November 2007, involving two aircraft – one for the Army and another for the Navy – both of which were delivered at the end of 2008. Early in 2009, Embraer revealed the acquisition of a second ERJ 135 by the Royal Thai Army.

As in the previous contracts, this new contract with the Navy includes a logistical package and provisions for a Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) installation kit. Thailand is the first military operator in Southeast Asia to use the ERJ 135 jet for civilian and military official transportation and MEDEVAC missions.


The ERJ 135 jet

The ERJ 135 is a member of the successful ERJ 145 family, which has delivered over 1,100 units and accumulated more than 15 million flight hours. The ERJ 135 can handle a broad variety of missions and has a high level of commonality with the ERJ 145 jet. Based on the ERJ 135 platform, Embraer launched the Legacy 600 executive jet, an aircraft with more than 170 units delivered that offers customer premium comfort, high dispatch reliability, and low operating cost. In the defense segment, this platform has efficiently performed government transportation and medical evacuation missions for Belgium, Brazil, Greece, India, and Nigeria.

The ERJ 135 jet offers military customers a combination of modern equipment, advanced systems redundancy, and low maintenance cost, as well as a high level of readiness. The success of the ERJ 145 family of jets in the regional commercial aviation market is marked by constantly increasing efficiency and cost reduction, which are achieved by less frequent inspections and shorter turn-around times. These characteristics make it possible for Embraer’s military aircraft based on the ERJ 145 platform to fly over 3,000 hours per year.