4 ms·
Tanker and bomber aircraft complimented their business better. Those products have been fantastically successful.
by missedthecue 5y ago
Tanker and bomber aircraft complimented their business better. Those products have been fantastically successful.
- nradov 5y agoThat had been true, but the recent KC-46 tanker is far from successful.
- ethbr0 5y agoThe KC-46 is somewhere at $5B in losses to Boeing (the USAF wrote the program contract defensively, for once) and years behind schedule. And as for bombers, Northrop Grumman is at the pole position with the B-21 Raider contract. The B-52 will be flying forever, but that can't be a major revenue win for Boeing. The F/A-18E/F is getting a bit long in the tooth, and the Navy (and Air Force) are both starting up new fighter programs (aka Next Generation Air Dominance, separate for each service).
- missedthecue 5y agoThe maintenance contracts on the B-52s alone are worth tens of billions of dollars. And like you pointed out, they're going to keep renewing those contracts for decades to come.
- ethbr0 5y agoYes, but there are apparently 76 active + 18 reserve. And notably only used by the USAF. That's a lot of planes, and a huge contract, but it's not a recipe for growth.