Embraer and Northrop Grumman say they are working together to evolve the KC-390 Millennium into a tanker variant aimed at the United States Air Force and allied operators, with a central focus on adding a boom refueling capability to the aircraft.
In a statement issued on February 19, 2026, the companies said the collaboration is intended to “rapidly advance” a next-generation air-refueling system and set the stage for a KC-390 “Multi-Mission Tanker” concept.
Planned enhancements cited by the partners include an “advanced autonomous” aerial refueling boom, upgraded communications, improved situational awareness, survivability options, and adaptable mission systems.
Tom Jones, Corporate Vice President and President of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, said the company is making “strategic investments” to address what it sees as a gap in “advanced air mobility solutions,” particularly among allies seeking “greater operational autonomy and efficiency.”
Embraer Defense and Security CEO Bosco da Costa Junior said the effort will prioritize a boom refueling system for the KC-390, calling the aircraft “operationally proven and cost-effective,” and suggesting it could be added to the US Air Force inventory quickly.
A boom is a key requirement if Embraer wants the KC-390 to refuel a broader set of US and allied receivers, since the KC-390’s current refueling approach is probe-and-drogue, while US Air Force tankers predominantly use boom refueling.
The partnership follows an earlier KC-390 effort with L3Harris Technologies that ended in 2024.
A familiar Northrop tanker storyline
Northrop’s re-entry into the tanker conversation with a foreign airframe comes with historical echoes. In 2008, Northrop teamed with EADS, then the parent of Airbus, and initially won the KC-X tanker competition run by the US Air Force with the KC-45, based on the Airbus A330 MRTT.
That award was later overturned after a protest that the Government Accountability Office sustained, and the competition was ultimately canceled and restarted. When the KC-X contest concluded, Boeing won the contract in 2011 for what became the KC-46 program.
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