The Boeing Company BA recently won a contract for supplying the design, development, fabrication, test, verification, certification, delivery, and support of four MQ-25A unmanned air vehicles (UAV). Majority of the work related to the deal will be carried out in Louis, MO.
Details of the Deal
Valued at $805.3 million, the contract was awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland. Per the terms of the agreement, Boeing will also integrate the UAVs into the carrier air wing to offer an initial operational capability to the Navy.
Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds will be used by the company to complete the task by August 2024.
What’s MQ-25A?
Boeing’s MQ-25A is a carrier-based unmanned aircraft system, designed to provide aerial refueling capability. It thereby extends the combat range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin LMT F-35C fighters.
Our View
With increasing complexities of terrorism across the globe, the demand for UAVs has risen. This is because when sustained endurance efforts are required, unmanned aircraft provide superior capabilities. Also, physical infrastructure limitations sometimes prohibit the use of manned rotary or fixed-winged aircraft.
In the United States, the primary purpose of domestic UAV operations is to provide realistic training experience, test equipment and tactics to the Department of Defense (DoD) forces in order to prepare them for potential overseas warfighting missions. Moreover, these unmanned air vehicleshelp the Defense Support of Civilian Authorities (DSCA) during training and exercises.
In this context it is imperative to mention that aerospace major Boeing bears more than 10 years of experience in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight services and information delivery. Notably the company’s Insitu offers high-performance, low-cost UAS used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). This subsidiary also thrives to bring in new, advanced UAVs, and the latest contract is an evidence to that.
Over the past 90 years, Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the U.S. Navy. Considering the valued expertise the company has in UAS, the latest budgetary expansions in the United States, and the fact that MQ-25A is going to hit the U.S. market post delivery of the latest contract, we may expect the aircraft giant to win more such contracts involving its MQ-25A UAV, in days ahead.
Price Movement
In a year’s time, Boeing’s shares have gained 44.7% compared with the industry’s growth of 20.9%. The outperformance was primarily led by the robust worldwide demand for its commercial aircraft and military jets.
.jpg)
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Boeing currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A few better-ranked stocks in the same space are Engility Holdings EGL and Huntington Ingalls Industries HII, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Engility Holdings delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 19% in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings moved north 16.8% to $2.02 over the last 90 days.
Huntington Ingalls Industries came up with an average positive earnings surprise of 9.48% in the preceeding four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings moved up 3.7% to $17.24 over the last 90 days.
5 Companies Verge on Apple-Like Run
Did you miss Apple's 9X stock explosion after they launched their iPhone in 2007? Now 2018 looks to be a pivotal year to get in on another emerging technology expected to rock the market. Demand could soar from almost nothing to $42 billion by 2025. Reports suggest it could save 10 million lives per decade which could in turn save $200 billion in U.S. healthcare costs. A bonus Zacks Special Report names this breakthrough and the 5 best stocks to exploit it. Like Apple in 2007, these companies are already strong and coiling for potential mega-gains.
Click to see them right now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment