President Donald Trump on Friday awarded Boeing the contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, two sources familiar with the situation said.
The NGAD program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones. The plane's design remains a closely held secret but would likely include stealthiness, advanced sensors and cutting-edge engines.
Shares of Boeing were up nearly 5% after the news. The Seattle-based company beat out Lockheed Martin for the deal, dropping its shares nearly 6%.
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 engineering and manufacturing development contract is worth more than $20 billion. The winner will eventually receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders over the contract's multi-decade lifetime.