Boeing’s Navy Coup Could Rattle Rivals, but Execution Risks Remain
Just when the market vultures were circling Boeing’s commercial wing, the US Navy handed them the keys to its next-generation stealth fighter. It is their second major fighter jet coup in rapid succession, and to me, it smells of deliberate Pentagon disruption.
For decades, Lockheed Martin has treated the fighter jet realm as its private fiefdom, buoyed by the ubiquitous F-35 programme. Northrop Grumman, meanwhile, quietly owned the nocturnal stealth bomber space. Now, the procurement mandarins seem eager to shake up the hierarchy.
It is classic risk management. Relying on a single contractor is rather like ordering Sunday dinner from the same cantankerous pub every week. Sooner or later, the beef turns up burnt, and the bill arrives doubled. The Navy wants alternatives, and Boeing, despite its civilian headaches, has just been thrown a substantial lifeline.