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☆ Boeing Bets on Experimental Jetliner Flight in 2028
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Doug Cameron | Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Boeing Co. won a NASA-backed contest to build a prototype of a new, fuel-efficient jetliner that officials said the company aims to fly for the first time in 2028. The plane the aerospace giant plans to develop would install longer, thinner wings supported from below on a single-aisle fuselage, a design that officials said would cut down on fuel needs. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration didn’t disclose the names of rivals who participated in its competition, which was aimed at kick-starting the development of more environmentally friendly aircraft.

☆ Space Launches Should Withstand Chinese Challenge, Pentagon Mandate Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Doug Cameron | Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The next generation of rockets built to launch U.S. spy satellites into orbit will have to be capable of fending off interference by China and Russia, according to people briefed on a coming Pentagon competition. The Defense Department is preparing to issue new requirements for the contractors vying to build the rockets, intended to counter China’s growing capabilities in space. That marks a change from previous contract awards, which were driven primarily by reliability and cost concerns.

☆ Canada to Buy 88 F-35 Jet Fighters to Refurbish Aging Air Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Paul Vieira | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An F-35 demonstration in 2019. Canada was one of eight original countries to partner in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, as a way to defray some of its costs. OTTAWA—Canada said Monday it would purchase 88 F-35 combat jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., ending a protracted, politically-charged process to refurbish the country’s aging air force. The total cost is budgeted at 19 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of over $14 billion, with deliveries set to start in 2026 and all purchased aircraft expected to be in operation by 2034. Canada said the deal, struck with the Pentagon, provides the country with the best jet fighter to meet its obligations to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and protect the country’s Arctic, which officials say face elevated threats from Russia and China.

☆ Lagging Arms Production Makes Pentagon Wary of Further Industry Consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon’s operations leave less room for multiple contractors, with Lockheed’s F-35 jet fighter meant to replace many types of aircraft. U.S. defense companies are finding it tough to quickly replenish weaponry such as missiles and artillery shells for Ukraine, leading Pentagon officials to revisit whether industry consolidation has gone too far. Two decades of mergers and acquisitions have left the top six contractors to share the majority of Pentagon spending on military equipment. In the 1990s, some 50 firms vied for big contracts.

☆ Lockheed Martin Protests Loss of Military Helicopter Contract
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Black Hawk helicopters, made by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky arm, flying near the U.S. military base in Mosul, Iraq, in a 2006 photo. Lockheed Martin Corp. said it has filed a protest against the Army’s decision to award Textron Inc. with the contract to build a new fleet of helicopters that analysts estimate could be worth up to $80 billion. The Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program is one of the Pentagon’s top priorities, aiming to replace hundreds or even thousands of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters made by Lockheed’s Sikorsky arm.

☆ Defense Contractor L3Harris Plans to Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.7 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A deal is expected to face intense regulatory scrutiny at a time when Aerojet has also wrestled with production problems. Defense firm L3Harris Technologies Inc. on Sunday said it agreed to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. in a $4.7 billion deal that would cement L3Harris’s role as one of six prime defense contractors for the Pentagon. Aerojet is a major maker of engines used in missiles, such as the Javelin deployed in Ukraine. Its products also help power National Aeronautics and Space Administration rockets and U.S. military hypersonic systems designed to deter China’s military expansion.

☆ Pentagon Reviews Munitions Needs as Ukraine Drains Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon is reassessing the U.S.’s stockpile of missiles, artillery shells and other munitions in light of the huge quantities consumed in fighting in Ukraine this year, and could find the U.S. needs to keep less ammunition in its arsenal because the Russians have fired so much of theirs, defense officials said. The sheer quantity of U.S.-made munitions that Ukrainian forces have shot at the Russians has stretched U.S. stocks and worn out howitzer barrels, military officials and company executives said. It has brought to the fore years of underinvestment in munitions manufacturing and purchasing, which the Pentagon said it aims to reverse.

An artist’s rendering of what the new jet fighter, to be developed by Japan, the U.K. and Italy, will look like. Japan, the U.K. and Italy said they would jointly develop a next-generation stealth jet fighter by 2035 that they hope will surpass the U.S.-made F-35 in some capabilities. The three U.S. allies described the project as complementary to American military programs, but if the project is successful they could look to market it to other countries amid growing global demand for jet fighters.

☆ Supply-Chain Issues Slow Global Arms Sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. and its allies have sent billions of dollars of arms stocks such as shells to Ukraine. Supply-chain snarls are threatening to break a seven-year run of rising global arms sales, even with increasing demand from the war raging in Ukraine and simmering Taiwan-related tensions. Sales by the world’s 100 largest defense companies rose 1.9% last year to $592 billion, slowing from prepandemic levels and led by gains among suppliers in Europe and Asia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank.

☆ U.S. Unveils B-21 Raider, the Stealth Bomber Designed to Deter China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PALMDALE, Calif.—The Pentagon is poised to show off its first new bomber in more than 30 years, lifting the veil on the secret long-range jet intended as a central element in Washington’s effort to keep China in check. Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. on Friday will provide a glimpse of one of the new B-21 Raider jets at a government facility north of Los Angeles, where its most sensitive military projects are developed and built, ahead of an expected first flight next year.

☆ U.S. Unwraps B-21 Bomber, Designed to Deter China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Pentagon Office to Support Tech Investment Critical for National Security
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sharon Weinberger | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon’s new Office of Strategic Capital will employ loans, guarantees and other financial tools not typically used by the military. The Pentagon has established a new unit to lure private funding for technology deemed critical to national security, citing concern over China’s military advances. On Thursday, the Defense Department announced the creation of the Office of Strategic Capital, which will seek to employ loans, guarantees and other financial tools not typically used by the U.S. military, which relies mainly on contracts and grants.

WASHINGTON—U.S. government and congressional officials fear the conflict in Ukraine is exacerbating a nearly $19 billion backlog of weapons bound for Taiwan, further delaying efforts to arm the island as tensions with China escalate. The U.S. has pumped billions of dollars of weapons into Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February, taxing the capacity of the government and defense industry to keep up with a sudden demand to arm Kyiv in a conflict that isn’t expected to end soon. The flow of weapons to Ukraine is now running up against the longer-term demands of a U.S. strategy to arm Taiwan to help it defend itself against a possible invasion by China, according to congressional and government officials familiar with the matter.

☆ Ukraine War Spurs Arms Makers to Boost Production
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Benjamin Katz | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rheinmetall, one of Europe’s biggest weapons and munitions makers, displayed its wares at an exhibition in Paris earlier this year. The world’s biggest arms makers are scaling up production of rocket launchers, tanks and ammunition as the industry shifts to meet what executives expect to be sustained demand triggered by the war in Ukraine. The ramp-up is playing out in large measure in Europe, where a handful of long-established arms makers have grown accustomed to more modest, peacetime demand for their wares and are now trying to increase capacity to meet an expected crush of orders. Shares of many of these lesser-known international arms players, including Germany’s Rheinmetall AG and Sweden’s Saab AB, have soared on hopes of big orders.

☆ U.S. Looks to Buy Private Icebreaker to Help Patrol Contested Arctic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( William Mauldin | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. government is looking to buy a secondhand icebreaker so the Coast Guard can boost its presence around Alaska. The U.S. government is looking to buy an icebreaker from a private energy services company to bolster its presence in the waters around Alaska, according to congressional aides. The plan is for the U.S. Coast Guard to acquire the Aiviq icebreaker from Edison Chouest Offshore, the aides said. Congress is close to approving funding to buy and outfit the used ship, which is estimated at $125 million to $150 million, they added.

☆ Boeing Replaces Space Chief as Defense Unit Looks to Stem Losses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Boeing Co. said on Thursday that it was replacing the head of its space business as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reversing losses at its defense unit. Kay Sears will take over a new space, intelligence and weapons-systems operation as part of defense chief Ted Colbert ‘s consolidation of the military business into four units, from eight at present, with immediate effect. Jim Chilton will continue to run the space and launch business until February.

☆ Boeing Lays Out Plan to Rebound From 737 MAX, Other Problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Andrew Tangel | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Boeing Co. executives on Wednesday said they planned to restore the plane maker’s financial strength over the next three years, after a string of losses in the wake of two 737 MAX crashes and other problems. Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said the company expects to generate about $100 billion in annual sales by 2025 or the next year, a level it hasn’t reported since 2018. The first of two MAX crashes occurred late that year, leading to the biggest crisis in the company’s history.

☆ The Weird-Looking, Fuel-Efficient Planes You Could Be Flying In One Day
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ SpaceX Launches Falcon Heavy Rocket on Classified Space Force Mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SpaceX launched its largest rocket for the first time in three years, carrying toward orbit a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon Heavy rocket, which SpaceX has said is the world’s largest operational space launch vehicle, lifted off Tuesday from a fog-shrouded Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is the 50th launch this year by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the formal name for the company led by founder Elon Musk.

☆ Defense Companies Still Await Boost From Pentagon’s Arming of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

There is an $8 billion gap between what the Pentagon has pledged to send to support Ukraine and its allies, and the contracts awarded to defense companies. Executives at military contractors said the combination of supply chain hurdles, labor shortages and Pentagon bureaucracy means billions of dollars in contracts won’t start to benefit their financial results until late next year and into 2024 and beyond.

☆ Boeing Reports $3.3 Billion Loss, Weighed Down by Defense Unit Charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Andrew Tangel | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Boeing said its losses deepened in the third quarter as fresh problems with its defense business added to supply-chain and regulatory woes in its commercial jet arm. The Arlington, Va., aerospace giant reported a loss of $3.3 billion, compared with a $132 million deficit in the third quarter last year. Its results were weighed by $2.8 billion in charges related to programs including its troubled military refueling tanker and Air Force One replacement jets. Revenue rose 4% from a year ago to $16 billion.

☆ Boeing Reports $3.3 Billion Loss, Weighed Down By Defense Unit Charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Andrew Tangel | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Boeing said its losses deepened in the third quarter as fresh problems with its defense business added to supply chain and regulatory woes in its commercial jet arm. The Arlington, Va., aerospace giant reported a loss of $3.3 billion, compared with a loss of $132 million in the third quarter last year. Its results were weighed by $2.8 billion in charges related to programs including its troubled military refueling tanker and Air Force One replacement jets. Revenue rose 4% from a year ago to $16 billion.

☆ Amazon to Use Airbus Cargo Planes for First Time
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon.com . Inc. said it is hiring Hawaiian Air lines to fly its packages on 10 rented Airbus SE jets around the U.S., reducing its reliance on Boeing planes. The e-commerce giant has a fleet of more than 110 aircraft, mainly Boeing 767s that used to carry passengers but now move goods, and outsources the flying to other airlines.

☆ Lockheed Martin Constrained by Supply Chain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Demand for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 combat jets increased in the wake of Ukraine-driven tensions but it could take years for that interest to turn into orders and sales. Lockheed Martin said it is still grappling with parts and labor shortages, denting its hopes of increased sales next year and taking advantage of rising demand for its military equipment. The world’s largest defense company by revenue said it now expects sales to remain flat next year compared with 2022 as it awaits more deals driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s military expansion.

☆ Lockheed Martin Charts Return to Growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lockheed Martin said it would return to sales growth in 2024 after ironing out supply-chain challenges and turning rising demand for its military equipment into orders. The world’s largest defense company by revenue said it now expects sales to remain flat next year compared with 2022 as it awaits more deals driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s military expansion.

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