Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer and American defense giant Northrop Grumman are partnering to pitch Embraer’s KC-390 Millennium to the US Air Force and other foreign militaries, the two companies announced today. Under the new partnership, formalized by a memorandum of understanding, Northrop is studying ways to incorporate an autonomous boom refueling system into the KC-390, along with other mission equipment. The team up could help strengthen Embraer’s bid to break the Millennium into the lucrative US market as the Pentagon weighs future mobility options. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “has been talking a lot about getting capability to the warfighter as fast as possible,” Tom Jones, the head of Northrop Grumman’s aeronautics division, said today during a briefing with reporters here from a hanger, looking out at a KC-390 on the tarmac. “And I think one of the great ways to do that is to take partnerships between companies that have complementary capabilities.” Bosco da Costa Jr., the president of Embraer’s defense division, added that the partnership affords the opportunity to “leverage this platform [the KC-390] to another level. “We do believe this platform will bring a winning value proposition to our customers around the globe, not only here in the US, but internationally,” da Costa said during the briefing. (Like other media, Breaking Defense accepted travel accommodations from the two companies for the visit, which included a flight in the KC-390.)

The new partnership comes after a similar agreement between Embraer and US defense contractor L3Harris fell apart in 2024. It would also represent a new foray by Northrop into the world of air refueling after the company won the original US Air Force KC-X contract in partnership with Airbus, only to be stymied by a protest from Boeing. Boeing went on to secure the eventual contract. Northrop and Embraer have a long road ahead, with significant development work needed to incorporate a boom that executives are aiming to be optional for buyers and retrofittable on existing aircraft while retaining multi-mission capability like moving cargo. A new boom would enable the Millennium to refuel a wider range of aircraft — including, crucially, those flown by the US Air Force — beyond those it can already gas up with a hose and drogue. According to Jones, the team would like to demonstrate a boom refueling capability in “low, single-digit years.” Developing a boom would also likely require considerable internal investment, meaning that an order from a big customer like the US Air Force would help sew up the business case. Asked if Northrop’s commitment to the partnership and boom development hinges on whether the US Air Force buys the aircraft for a next-gen tanker program known as NGAS, Jones mostly demurred. “Obviously, having the US Air Force invest in this capability, I think would be great. I believe there’s going to be a lot of international demand for this,” he said. “We’re starting the investment. We’re working the strategy of exactly how we come to market, how much internal investment, how much manufacturing investments. Those are all developments that are going to be [part of] the next stages we flesh out as we start operating under this MOU,” he added.

Embraer manufactures the KC-390 in Brazil, but has emphasized it’s ready to deepen its investment in the US by opening a dedicated Millennium facility. On Northrop’s side, Jones said the company would have to sort out where to perform its manufacturing tasks among its various sites. Executives additionally emphasized other opportunities for the partnership beyond the United States. Da Costa, for example, said the Netherlands and Czechia — two of several international customers to sign on to the Millennium in recent years — are interested in using the Millennium to refuel forthcoming fleets of the F-35, which require boom-based refueling. “I think if we only focus on the domestic market, we’re missing a much bigger picture of all the opportunity that’s really out there,” Jones said. “There’s a pretty large installed base of fighter aircraft around the world with all of our allies that we have that need fixed boom refueling capabilities, and right now they don’t have an option, like the option that we’re going to create together that’s behind us here right now,” he added, gesturing to a Millennium parked behind him.