The CEO of Boeing said that the choice of the US Air Force of its sixth generation fighter design on Lockheed Martin cement its place in the fighter aircraft sector. The victory puts him back in the hunting match Stealth after his joint defeat of Fricke Fighter more than two decades ago.
On Wednesday, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said during a call for results that President Donald Trump and the Air Force granted Boeing the contract to build the fighter of the next generation of air domination (NGAD), called the F-47, was “a transformational achievement”.
He said that being the main defense entrepreneur for the first world fighter of sixth generation “will secure our Fighter franchise for the coming decades”. He later added that the “F-47 victory is a key step to build our future, cement our franchise in the hunter sector”.
Competition for the new generation fighter was rigid, with conceptions of hunting aircraft from Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman in consideration. When the latter retired from the project, he left only the same two entrepreneurs who competed for the joint fighter at the turn of the century.
The announcement that Boeing will build the next stealth fighter plane has come after decades of Lockheed Martin overlooking the furtive hunter industry. Lockheed’s Skunk’s work built the first operational furtive aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk, then it was the main entrepreneur for fifth American fifth fighters, the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The selection of Lockheed for what became later the F-35 program in 2001 was a blow for Boeing, who had worked with Lockheed on the F-22, a fifth generation air superiority fighter. The next F-47 should replace the F-22, and it should be ready for the fight by the end of this decade.
An F-35 is seen on the flight deck of the USS Tripoli Amphibian assault ship. Photo of the American Navy by specialist in mass communication 3rd class Maci Sternod
In 2022, the head of the Boeing Defense Division Ted Colbert said that “fighters are an important company for Boeing company” and that “we have not abandoned the fight in this space. We continue to invest in it”.
Boeing builds fourth generation fighters like the Air Force F-15 Eagle Eagle and the Navy F / A-18, but until recently, he had come out of the stealth hunter game for some time.
Lockheed Martin CEO declared in response to the decision that this would not protest the selection of Boeing for the NGAD program. Instead, the company talks about overeating the Jet F-35, transforming it into a sort of fighter plane more than fifth generation.
James Taiclet said during a Lockheed profits call this week that the company would update the F-35 to be able to reach 80% of the F-47 capacities for half of the cost. He declared that the effort would be informed by what the company learned in its candidacy for the sixth generation combatant contract.
The new Boeing contract would be the cost and more, which means that the government covers Boeing expenditure as it develops the jet and also gives Boeing costs that can be modified according to the performance of the jet.
Ortberg was questioned about this and what risk was the company to take the company with the F-47 on Wednesday and replied by saying that it would not comment on the structure of the contract.
He said Boeing did not commit to any “undue risk”. The CEO of Boeing added that “clearly, we did not get out of our strategy to ensure that we are entering the type of contract appropriate for the appropriate type of work.
“I would not worry that we have registered at industrial risks as we have done in some of our fixed price programs, but that is almost all that I can say on this subject at the moment,” he said. Boeing has lost billions of dollars on the contract for the new Air Force One.
President Donald Trump announced that the Air Force had awarded the F-47 contract to Boeing. Photo by Annabelle Gordon / AFP
Boeing presented a positive image of the company’s defense activities and global finances in its profits call, signaling a smaller than expected quarterly loss.
He reported a loss of 49 cents per share in the first quarter, while analysts expected him to signal an adjusted loss of $ 1.29 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG and reported by Reuters.
Brian West, executive vice-president of Boeing and financial director, said during the call that the main defense activities of Boeing “remain solid, representing around 60% of our income and efficient of the range of margin to a mediocre to high figure. The demand of these products remains very strong, supported by the threat environment confronted with our nation and our allies.”
He said “the match plan” is to obtain the defense, space and security of Boeing Division “Back to margins to a high figure”.
He said that “the defense portfolio is well positioned for the future, and we always expect the company to return to historical performance levels while we continue to stabilize production, execute development programs and move to new contracts with stricter subscription standards”.
When Trump announced the victory of the Boeing Ngad contract in March, the president suggested that the United States could export the jet, but it would be a less capable version. The United States regularly sells modified export versions of weapons, but it is a notable gap compared to the F-35. The F-22 has not been exported in particular.
We do not know what it will mean for the F-47, because it is still the beginning. Recently, the isolation of the Allies by Trump has shaken the F-35 program. Some European companies have sought to capitalize, but this program continues.
Frank Kendall, former US Air Force secretary during the Biden administration, said Defense & Aerospace Report in March’s “Air Power Podcast” that he doubted American allies would be willing to buy the F-47 due to the expected costs and the new attitude towards the allies.
Kendall took a break from the NGAD program last year for concerns about the potential cost – some estimates reached $ 300 million per plane – and wondering if a new crew fighter is what the Air Force needs for future fights. He left this decision to the Trump administration.
After the decision, Kendall wondered if the new administration rushed into the F-47. Congress, he said, must ask difficult questions: “Is this the right plane for our defense strategy? Is it affordable? Does this move higher priorities? “”
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