Trump picks Boeing over Lockheed for fighter jet contract
WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Boeing (BA.N), on Friday the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s most sophisticated fighter jet yet, handing the company a much-needed win and boosting its shares.
The Next Generation Air Dominance program will replace Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones.
“We’ve given an order for a lot. We can’t tell you the price,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Boeing shares rose 5% after the U.S. company beat out Lockheed Martin for the deal. Lockheed’s shares fell nearly 7%.
“Our allies are calling constantly,” Trump added, saying foreign sales could be an option. “They want to buy them also.”
For Boeing, the win marks a reversal of fortune for a company that has struggled on both the commercial and defense sides of its business. It is a major boost for its St. Louis, Missouri, fighter jet production business.The loss is another blow to Lockheed after it was eliminated from the competition to build the Navy’s next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter, and amid growing discontent from the Pentagon over delays in upgrading its F-35 fighter jet.
In recent weeks, Trump met with Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet to discuss the F-35, according to three sources.
The engineering and manufacturing development contract is worth more than $20 billion. Boeing’s win means it will make the jet fighter and receive orders worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the contract’s multi-decade lifetime.
Reuters was first to report Boeing’s victory.“We recognize the importance of designing, building and delivering a 6th-generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force,” Steve Parker, who leads Boeing’s defense business, said in a statement. “In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defense business.”The plane’s design remains a closely held secret, but would likely include stealth, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge engines.