Boeing awarded 6th Gen NGAD contract

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Boeing wins Air Force contract for NGAD next-gen fighter

Boeing's selection to produce the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter is a game-changer for the company's challenged defense arm.

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WASHINGTON — Boeing has won an Air Force contract to develop a new, sixth-generation fighter that officials emphasize will be critical to maintain America’s air supremacy over China, Breaking Defense has learned.

The aerospace giant’s victory in the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program gives Boeing the opportunity to build a new fighter jet at a time when its F/A-18 line is nearing closure, a major lifeline for the company’s St. Louis facility. The win also helps boost the aerospace giant’s defense business, which has suffered billions of dollars in losses in recent years stemming from a series of ill-performing fixed-price contracts, and comes at a time when Boeing’s commercial arm is still in turmoil.

Boeing bested Lockheed Martin in the NGAD competition, ending Lockheed’s status as the sole prime contractor producing stealth fighters in the West — namely the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. A third competitor, Northrop Grumman, dropped out of the competition in 2023 but is expected to compete for a new Navy fighter jet.

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