<p class="ingestion featured-caption">The C-390 was once Boeing's solution to the competing C-130 before it pulled out of the deal.Jakob Wert</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Boeing once wanted to buy a stake in Embraer's C-390 Millennium military aircraft.</li><li>The $4.2 billion joint venture aimed to boost Boeing's market reach and Embraer's resources.</li></ul><p><a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-inside-340-million-boeing-c17-globemaster-iii-military-jet-2022-1">Boeing doesn't have an answer</a> to US aerospace company Lockheed Martin's C-130 Hercules military plane — but it used to.</p><p>In December 2018, Boeing and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-and-embraer-take-on-airbus-bombardier-new-joint-venture-2018-7">Embraer announced joint ventures</a> that would give the American planemaker an 80% stake in Embraer's commercial arm and a 49% stake in its new C-390 Millenium military jet.</p><p>A $4.2 billion Boeing-Embraer Defense deal was eventually <a target="_blank" class href="https://apnews.com/brazils-president-rejects-selling-embraer-to-boeing-afed1ad085824775be0110da8e7d8062">rejected</a> by the Brazilian government in favor of partnerships with Boeing instead that would benefit both companies.</p><p>Boeing needed <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/embraer-195-e2-automatic-takeoff-system-airbus-a220-rival-2024-7">Embraer's valuable regional fleet</a> 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.</p><p><a target="_blank" class href="https://investors.boeing.com/investors/news/press-release-details/2020/Boeing-Terminates-Agreement-to-Establish-Joint-Ventures-with-Embraer/default.aspx">Boeing</a> blamed the fallout on Embraer for failing to meet unspecified contract conditions. The Brazilian planemaker <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-brazils-embraer-will-defend-itself-against-legal-challenge-to-boeing-talks-2018-7">rebutted Boeing</a>, saying it met the joint venture conditions, but Boeing "wrongfully terminated" the deal due to financial and reputational challenges surrounding two <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-crashes-groundings-timeline-737-max-777-air-force-tanker-2024-1">737 Max crashes</a> and other business problems.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/embraer-denied-reports-kick-boeing-while-its-down-2024-5">bitter collapse meant Boeing</a> would lose access to the regional sector, and it wouldn't have a direct military transport competitor to <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/c-130j-30-air-force-slideshow-2019-7">Lockheed's C-130 Hercules</a> — one of the world's leading military transport aircraft.</p><p>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, <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-c390-millenium-us-c130-hercules-military-cargo-plane-2024-7">Embraer's bigger and faster jet</a> gives Lockheed a run for its money.</p>