Austria names successor to Hercules
At a press conference, Austria's defence minister Klaudia Tanner and major general Harald Vodosek announced that all further plans for the successor to the C-130 "Hercules" will focus on the Embraer C-390. The C-130 "Hercules" has been in service at in the Austrian army for 20 years.
Klaudia Tanner: "True to our motto 'mission forward', we can now finally announce another major milestone for our air force. Since 2003, the three 'Hercules' aircraft have handled many missions and have always been a reliable transport device for our soldiers. Now it is time for the Embraer C-390 to replace the C-130 'Hercules'. Embraer's aircraft system is the only one in the 20 t class that meets all our requirements. With this procurement, we are taking another big step towards a modern army and thus towards more security for Austria’s population." (cj)