LatinNews Daily - 26 March 2026

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has travelled to a production facility of the aircraft manufacturer Embraer in Gavião Peixoto municipality, São Paulo state, to unveil the first ever plane produced in Brazil that can fly at supersonic speed – a unit of the F-39E Gripen military aircraft, produced in partnership with Swedish manufacturer Saab. This is the first aircraft from Embraer’s FX-2 fighter jet programme, which has been allocated a total investment of R$28.5bn (US$5.45bn) from 2014-2033, R$10.5bn of which is drawn from federal government funding. The programme is expected to produce 36 fighter jets, 15 of which will be produced in Gavião Peixoto. According to a government press release, Embraer’s fighter jet programme is estimated to create 2,200 direct jobs and 10,800 indirect jobs, with other Brazilian companies, such as tech firms AEL Sistemas, Akaer, and Atech, developing the software and hardware for different components in the Gripen jets.