Brazilian airplane maker Embraer to build two new jets

While Boeing and Airbus make the headlines with their successes and recent failures, another aircraft manufacturer is quietly on its way to becoming an alternative to these two behemoths. The board of directors of aircraft manufacturer Embraer approved the launch of two new business jet models Friday, in what many analysts consider would plug some holes in its repertoire.

Embraer, the Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A., is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate engaged in the production of commercial, military, and corporate aircraft, as well as providing related aerospace services. Among aircraft manufacturers, it stands just behind Boeing and Airbus in delivery of commercial aircraft. In India, the Chennai-based Paramount Airways operates Embraer aircraft.

The two new models will be a Midsize Jet (MSJ) and a Midlight Jet (MLJ) respectively, and will be positioned between the company's Phenom 300 light jet and the Legacy 600 super midsize jet. These aircraft will have a passenger capacity of seven to twelve people. These new models had been discussed at the National Business Aviation Association convention in September last year.

While the MSJ is expected to enter service in the second half of 2012, the MLJ is scheduled to follow a year later. The total investment in R&D, in Embraer's opinion, would be $750 million, which the company has aid would be provided by  risk-sharing partners, financial institutions and its own cash generation.

Since declaring its intention in the spring of 2005 to become a major player in the business jet arena, Embraer has managed to bag orders for approximately $4.5 billion worth of new twin-engine business jets.