James Dodd, VP of Boeing’s advanced military aircraft, said the company is concentrating its research and development money in seven areas. They are data fusion, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities, precision navigation, directed energy, multiple autonomous vehicle operations, hypersonics, and alternative propulsion and storage. Speaking during an industrial base panel discussion Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Dodd said the government can help keep private aerospace capabilities alive by reforming export controls, reducing requirements, keeping science and technology funded, and “keeping the lines of communication open.” What he called “transparency”—government and industry understanding each other and making things clear about what they want and what can be done—is key, he said.
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.