See inside the Brazilian C-390 Millennium that Boeing once wanted to buy but now doesn’t have an answer to

A $4.2 billion Boeing-Embraer Defense deal was eventually rejected by the Brazilian government in favor of partnerships with Boeing instead that would benefit both companies.

Boeing needed Embraer’s valuable regional fleet to enter new markets, and Embraer could take advantage of Boeing’s marketing power and resources. However, the deal fell through in April 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

Boeing blamed the fallout on Embraer for failing to meet unspecified contract conditions. The Brazilian planemaker rebutted Boeing, saying it met the joint venture conditions, but Boeing “wrongfully terminated” the deal due to financial and reputational challenges surrounding two 737 Max crashes and other business problems.

The bitter collapse meant Boeing would lose access to the regional sector, and it wouldn’t have a direct military transport competitor to Lockheed’s C-130 Hercules — one of the world’s leading military transport aircraft.

The loss of Boeing’s name and money didn’t deter Embraer. Its multi-mission C-390 has since found footing outside Brazil, and despite its order book and legacy still dwarfing that of the C-130, Embraer’s bigger and faster jet gives Lockheed a run for its money.