McDonnell and Boeing to Work on New Fighter
Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp. said Monday that they agreed to work together on a new joint fighter aircraft being developed by Boeing for the U.S. armed forces and the British navy, regardless of whether their merger goes through.
The agreement isn’t related to Boeing’s plan to buy McDonnell Douglas for stock valued at about $15 billion, the companies said. The sale is awaiting regulatory approval.
Separately, Northrop Grumman Corp. said it won a contract worth more than $400 million to make doors for several models of Boeing passenger jets.
The exact value of the contract depends on how many aircraft Boeing delivers, Northrop said.
The agreement with McDonnell Douglas lets Seattle-based Boeing tap McDonnell’s vast fighter-building experience without having to wait for the purchase to close. About 50 McDonnell Douglas engineers will go to work on Boeing’s design for the new fighter, Boeing said. Terms of the agreement weren’t announced.
Boeing is vying with Lockheed Martin Corp. for the contract to build about 3,000 of the new jets for the Pentagon and Britain’s Royal Navy. Including sales to other nations, the contract could be worth more than $750 billion.
The two firms beat McDonnell Douglas in November in a three-way competition to build a prototype of the new plane, using about $1.1 billion each of Pentagon funds.
Losing the competition for what could be the last new fighter aircraft for the next 50 years was a blow to St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas, the world’s largest maker of fighters. It agreed to the Boeing purchase shortly thereafter.
“McDonnell has a proud heritage in tactical aviation, and we are excited about the prospects of applying their expertise to the Boeing Strike Fighter Program,” said Mickey Michellich, Boeing’s vice president for the fighter program.
Boeing, which hasn’t built a fighter since the 1930s, agreed to buy McDonnell Douglas, in part, to access its ability to build fighters. McDonnell Douglas builds both the F-18 and the F-15.
Rival Lockheed Martin builds the F-16, one of the most popular fighters in the world.
Boeing shares rose 75 cents to close at $107.875; McDonnell lost 12.5 cents to close at $67.125; and Northrop lost 25 cents to close at $78.125. All trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
