Defense Growth Lifts Embraer Backlog to Record US$34.5 Billion

DALLAS — Embraer's backlog climbed to a record US$34.5 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, with a large United Arab Emirates military-aircraft agreement supplying most of the increase from the previous quarter.

The Brazilian manufacturer reported that backlog increased 7% from $32.1 billion in 1Q26 and 16% from $29.7 billion a year earlier. The result was Embraer's seventh consecutive quarterly record.

Commercial Aviation remained the largest part of the backlog at US$15.1 billion. However, compared with Embraer's first-quarter segment totals, Defense & Security was the main source of sequential growth, rising by US$1.7 billion to US$6.1 billion. Based on the company's rounded figures, defense accounted for about 71% of the US$2.4 billion quarter-over-quarter increase.

The mix matters because the record was not simply the result of more commercial-jet orders. It reflects a broader portfolio in which military aircraft and long-term support contracts are becoming larger contributors alongside E-Jets and business aircraft.

Ten UAE C-390s Are Firm; Ten More Are Options

Embraer attributed the 42% year-over-year increase in Defense & Security backlog to the UAE contract for 10 firm C-390 Millennium aircraft. The agreement also includes 10 options, but those options are not firm orders and should not be combined with the confirmed portion as a 20-aircraft order.

Embraer's 2025 annual report explains that the company adds signed firm commitments to backlog and excludes options and letters of intent. On that basis, the 10 UAE options represent potential follow-on business rather than aircraft already included as firm commitments.

The distinction is especially important in defense, where large contracts can cause substantial quarter-to-quarter changes. Defense & Security posted a trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio of 2.6, Embraer's highest among the four units. A ratio above 1 indicates that bookings exceeded billings over the measured period, adding to future work.

Embraer's second-quarter delivery release listed no defense aircraft among the 65 aircraft handed over during the period. The simultaneous rise in backlog and absence of quarterly defense deliveries illustrates why backlog is a measure of contracted future work, not current production or revenue by itself.

Commercial Backlog Edges Higher

Commercial Aviation backlog increased to US$15.1 billion, up 15% year over year but only US$0.1 billion from the first quarter.

The main new commercial booking highlighted by Embraer was Azorra's firm order for 15 E195-E2s, which took the E2 program beyond 500 firm orders. Azorra also secured purchase rights for 15 additional aircraft, a separate category that is not part of the firm order.

Airways previously examined how the Azorra transaction raised the lessor's firm E2 orderbook to 54 aircraft. Lessor orders matter beyond a single airline fleet because those aircraft can ultimately be placed with multiple operators and across different markets.

Embraer also identified Fuji Dream Airlines (JH) during the Farnborough International Airshow as the customer for two E175s previously attributed to an undisclosed buyer. The manufacturer made clear that the aircraft were already in backlog, so revealing the customer did not create two additional second-quarter orders.

That timing also separates the June 30 backlog snapshot from the commercial transactions announced at Farnborough in July. As Airways' final airshow recap explains, the week's announcements included firm orders, options, purchase rights, and conditional agreements. They should affect later backlog disclosures only when they satisfy Embraer's booking criteria; they cannot all be added directly to the US$34.5 billion reported for 2Q26.

Commercial Aviation's trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio was 1.8, indicating that order intake continued to outpace billings on Embraer's measure.

Executive Jets and Support Add $600 Million

Executive Aviation backlog reached US$7.8 billion, an increase of US$0.2 billion from 1Q26 and 5% from a year earlier. The unit recorded a trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio of 1.1.

Embraer pointed to certification of the Praetor 500E and Praetor 600E by Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency during the quarter. The approvals open the new variants to operation in major markets, but certification is an operational milestone rather than an aircraft order.

Services & Support backlog rose US$0.4 billion from the first quarter to a record US$5.5 billion. The total was 12% higher year over year, and the unit's trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio reached 1.3.

During the quarter, Embraer signed a spare-parts inventory support agreement covering Jazz Aviation's (QK) 25 E175s and a lifecycle-support agreement for the Brazilian Air Force's C-390 fleet. Those contracts show how aircraft already in service can continue generating long-term work independently of new-aircraft sales.

Delivery Execution Is the Next Test

Embraer delivered 65 aircraft in 2Q26, its strongest second-quarter total in 16 years. The result included 20 commercial jets and 45 executive jets, taking first-half deliveries to 109 aircraft.

After delivering 30 commercial aircraft and 74 executive jets in the first half, Embraer would need to hand over another 50 to 55 commercial aircraft and 86 to 96 executive jets in the second half to meet its current 2026 guidance ranges. Those figures are arithmetic based on Embraer's guidance of 80 to 85 commercial and 160 to 170 executive deliveries, not a new company forecast.

The record backlog gives Embraer substantial demand visibility, but the operational test is converting that work into aircraft, support activity, revenue, and cash on schedule. The company's full second-quarter financial results will provide the next view of that conversion, including whether higher deliveries are translating into stronger financial performance and whether Embraer changes its 2026 outlook.