The Air Force’s E-7 will be modified to meet U.S. satellite communication, military GPS and cybersecurity and program protection requirements. This next round of collaborative combat aircraft development could involve the U.S.’s closest and “most strategic” international partners, Kendall said. The Air Force plans to buy up to 80 of these helicopters to replace their fleet of Vietnam-era Hueys and patrol nuclear missile fields. "You just can't do this stuff in a simulated environment," Boeing's Scott Belanger said of the Autonomous Aircraft Inspection initiative. As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza mounts, a growing group of Democrats pushes Biden to apply human rights laws to Israel security assistance. The KC-46 was to be the ideal candidate for a fixed-price development program. Instead, it has cost Boeing billions, and made industry wary of such deals. The first field-ready MH-139 is in final assembly, and is slated to be delivered in 2024. This T-7 aircraft made a 1,400-mile journey of ferrying flights from the Boeing factory in St. Louis, Missouri. Boeing's new timeline to deliver the next F-15EX comes nearly a year after the firm originally planned, and four months behind its revised estimate. A $482 million loss on the VC-25B Air Force One program helped sink Boeing's defense sector's profits and lead to a nearly $1 billion quarterly loss. Load More