Brazil’s Defense Minister, Jose Mucio, said on Friday that his country’s platemaker, Embraer SA, will produce planes that fulfill NATO specifications in collaboration with the Portuguese aerospace company OGMA.

Embraer, which owns 65% of OGMA, manufactures a variety of jets, notably the “Super Tucano” light attack aircraft.

The business introduced the A-29 Super Tucano with a NATO configuration last week, first focusing on the demands of European nations.

But Mucio previously said that manufacturing the aircraft – not just the Super Tucano but others too – in Brazil to sell them in Europe did not always meet all of the NATO requirements.

Mucio said certifying the company’s aircraft by NATO could open doors in the European market and others and that production in Portugal was “important because it already meets NATO’s pre-requisites”.

“We are going to manufacture Brazilian aircraft with NATO characteristics,” said Mucio, who is in Portugal with other ministers as part of a five-day state visit by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The Brazilian delegation is scheduled to visit OGMA’s headquarters near Lisbon on Monday.

Embraer also manufacturers the KC-390 military cargo aircraft and it aims for more international deals to sell it.

In 2019, the Portuguese government said it would buy five of Embraer’s KC-390 military transport aircraft and a flight simulator for 827 million euros. Countries such as Sweden and Colombia have recently expressed interest in buying it, too.

Two sources familiar with the matter said on last week that Austria was looking to advance in talks with Embraer on purchasing four or five KC-390 military cargo aircraft.

Mucio said Embraer wanted to export the KC-390 to more European countries.

“President (Lula) wants to encourage the Brazilian defense industry and increase investment in the defense industry,” Mucio said.