US President Donald Trump on Friday awarded Boeing a contract to build the US Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet, giving the company a much-needed victory that sent its shares soaring.
The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a manned aircraft designed to enter combat alongside drones.
Trump, the 47th president, announced the name of the new aircraft – the F-47.
"We've placed orders for a lot of them. We can't tell you the price," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Boeing shares rose 5 percent after the US company beat out Lockheed Martin for the contract. Lockheed's shares fell nearly 7 percent.
"Our allies keep calling," Trump added, saying there was an option to sell overseas. "And they want to buy them."
For Boeing, the deal marks a turnaround in fortunes for a company that has struggled in both its commercial and defense businesses.
Lockheed, on the other hand, suffered another blow after being eliminated from the competition for the Navy's next-generation stealth fighter for aircraft carriers amid growing Pentagon discontent over delays in upgrading the F-35 fighter jet.
In recent weeks, Trump met with Lockheed CEO Jim Taikle to discuss the F-35, according to three sources.
The engineering and manufacturing development contract is worth more than $20 billion, and Boeing's win means it will build the jet fighter and receive orders worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the decades-long life of the contract.
The aircraft's design remains a closely guarded secret, but it is likely to include stealth technology, advanced sensors and state-of-the-art engines.
"Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats – and we will have more F-47s in our inventory," said Air Force Chief of Staff General David Olvin.
NGAD is envisioned as a "family of systems" centered on a sixth-generation fighter to counter adversaries such as China and Russia.
Olvin said the F-47 will have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, and will be easier to support than the F-22.
Billionaire and Trump aide Elon Musk has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of top-of-the-line manned fighter jets, saying cheaper drones are a better option.
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