Melbourne (Florida): Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer and American defence 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.
Under the new partnership, formalised by a memorandum of understanding, Northrop Grumman is studying ways to incorporate an autonomous boom refuelling 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 Defence Pete Hegseth “has been talking a lot about getting capability to the war fighter as fast as possible,” Tom Jones, the head of Northrop Grumman’s aeronautics division, said 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 defence 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,” Bosco da Costa Jr. said during the briefing.
The new partnership comes after a similar agreement between Embraer and US defence contractor L3Harris fell apart in 2024. It would also represent a new foray by Northrop into the world of air refuelling 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 Grumman 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.
