Featuring distinctive rear-mounted eight blade propeller driven engines, the Embraer TPNG will have a much quieter cabin.

Embraer first floated the idea of a new family of turboprop regional airliners back in 2017 in response to a growing demand for smaller, more efficient aircraft.

In October 2020, Embraer released conceptual depictions with a fuselage similar to the E-Jet, featuring a low wing and a different T-tail design. The aircraft would compete against older French ATR, and De Havillands Dash 8 designs for 1.5 to 2hour flights over 500–700 nm. (930–1,300 km).

By 2021, the concept had snowballed into a 75- to 90-seat airliner, with a cross-section similar to the E-Jet E2 and a set of distinctive rear-mounted engines. Embraer is also planning to carry out full wind-tunnel testing later this year. 

Embraer Commercial Aviation president and CEO Arjan Meijer recently said of the new aircraft “This is not a turboprop as we know it.”

The TPNG (TurboProp Next Generation) will have a similar layout as the E2, but the cabin will be much quieter since the engines have moved from the wing to the rear of the fuselage. The TPNG will come in two versions, offering customers 50 and 90 seats. The aircraft will be called the TP50 and TP90 respectively.  

The two models will also have “outstanding green credentials,” according to an Embraer statement. Both aircraft will have up to 15 percent lower operating costs and less fuel burn than existing turboprops yet it will be 20 percent faster and offer up to 25 percent more seating capacity. Embraer expects the 90-seat TPNG could save as much as 18% per seat compared with the ATR, and 25% compared with the Dash.

A number of engine manufacturers are presently in discussion with Embraer to find the most effective engine for the TPNG, with final selection of the powerplant in the fourth quarter of 2022 (as reported by Reuters). 

The TPNG is expected to launch in mid-2023 and enter service in early 2028. It seems there will be a market for it, too. Embraer has forecast a need for nearly 11,000 new aircraft with up to 150 seats over the next 20 years, of which 2,280 (or 21 percent) would be turboprops.

Embraer hopes for the first model to enter airline service in early 2028 using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, with the second variant due later in 2029.

So far, Embraer has received over 250 letters of intent spanning airlines from a global spread of airlines (both mainline and regional carriers. Embraer forecasts a market for 2,260 turboprops in the two decades following 2022.

Embraer has shared a new teaser video titled “Fly The Future” on YouTube to give a more in-depth look at the new design.