As part of a global expansion strategy, Embraer continues its efforts to equip the United States Air Force (USAF) with the KC-390 Millennium transport aircraft. Despite the difficulties suffered in recent years, such as the dissolution of its alliance with L3Harris, the Brazilian company continues to present the aircraft at international conferences and to reinforce its credentials as a viable alternative in the tactical transport and aerial refueling segment.
The breakup with L3Harris, announced in October 2024, meant the end of a key partnership that had been presented in 2022 as the gateway to the U.S. market. The agreement contemplated that the American company would act as the prime contractor, integrating local mission systems and developing a version of the KC-390 equipped with a boom for aerial refueling operations. However, L3Harris’ change of priorities led to the termination of the collaboration, forcing Embraer to rethink its strategy to capture the Pentagon’s interest.
Far from retreating, Embraer has intensified its presence in specialized defense forums. In April 2025, the company participated in the ARSAG (Aerial Refueling Systems Advisory Group) conference in Las Vegas, where it exhibited a KC-390 from the Brazilian Air Force and publicly presented its capabilities before representatives of the USAF and allied forces. During the event, the CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, Bosco da Costa Jr., stressed that the aircraft not only fulfills the role of a tanker but also adapts to the modern operational concepts of “Agile Combat Employment,” which prioritize operations from remote airfields with limited resources.
More recently, at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference organized by the U.S. Air Force Association, Embraer brought a scale model of the KC-390 with USAF paint scheme and emphasized that more than half of its components are manufactured in U.S. territory. With IAE V2500-E5 engines and systems developed by companies under the RTX umbrella, the aircraft complies with the “Buy American Act,” a key aspect to advance in a potential contract. Added to this is the possibility, currently under evaluation, of installing an assembly line in the United States.
The KC-390 has demonstrated its versatility in different scenarios. Among its most notable trials is the exercise carried out in Ramstein, Germany, in 2024, where a U.S. HIMARS launcher was loaded in coordination with the Portuguese Air Force. The aircraft, already in operation in Brazil, Portugal, and Hungary, has been selected by the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and South Korea, consolidating itself as a preferred option for several NATO allies.
For Embraer, the key is to highlight the flexibility offered by the KC-390: it can operate from short runways, be reconfigured in a matter of hours for multiple missions — including transport, medical evacuation, aerial refueling, special operations, and disaster relief — and maintain lower life-cycle costs compared to traditional platforms. With these credentials, the company seeks to position itself as the alternative that combines tactical transport and refueling in a single system, capable of responding to the USAF’s new operational challenges.
Although the future of the KC-390 in the United States remains uncertain, Embraer insists that the need to renew the USAF refueling fleet opens a window of opportunity. With a KC-135 fleet projected to remain in service until the 2050s, and pending the Next-Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS) program, the Brazilian company is betting that its aircraft can be considered as an intermediate and tactical solution, adapted to the dispersed combat scenarios that Washington foresees for the coming decades.
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