Brazilian aircraft maker Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer) will push forward with a project to develop a new tanker-transport aircraft, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said April 14 at the Latin America Aerospace and Defense show in Rio de Janeiro. The deal to develop the new aircraft, the KC-390, comes amidst troubled economic times. From a technical standpoint, it is likely within Embraer's grasp — though it is ultimately attempting to compete with one of the most successful cargo aircraft in history: the Lockheed C-130 "Hercules." The deal with the Brazilian military comes at a time when the company is in dire need of additional orders, and the extra funding will help prop up one of Brazil's most important and technologically developed companies. Embraer has been feeling the tight pinch of global recession, which hit the company directly when it lost over $150 million in the derivatives markets.