Boeing Gets Boost from Navy Contract While FAA Delays Max 10

Boeing’s turnaround plan may be experiencing some unexpected turbulence, but it’s still at cruising altitude.

Mere days after the US Federal Aviation Administration delayed the certification of Boeing’s 737 Max 10 due to a software issue, the aerospace giant secured a big green light from another corner of the US federal government: the Navy, which awarded the company a $20 billion contract to build a next-generation fighter jet. It’s a sign that even in times of trouble, Boeing can and will still find plenty of buyers.

Flight Delay

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the FAA was investigating a software glitch on the MAX 10 that prevented some pilots from accessing automated flight guidance tools. Investors balked at the latest delay in what had already been a yearslong and troubled certification process for the latest version of the single-aisle jetliner; shares of the company have fallen about 6% so far this week. 

The good news for Boeing? FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has said the glitch isn’t nearly as troubling as the issues in back-to-back crashes of earlier, smaller MAX jets in 2018 and 2019; pilots, in this case, still maintain full control of the aircraft. The bad news? Bedford has said the delay will continue until the agency is satisfied that the issue is resolved, and Boeing may not be able to roll out a permanent software fix until 2028. (US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that he sees no reason for a prolonged delay.)

In the meantime, the company’s order book continues to fill up, across both its commercial and defense units:

• The Navy contract is for a jet plane currently designated the F/A-XX Strike Fighter, which could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars over its lifetime, analysts told Reuters. It’s Boeing’s second big contract to build fighter jets in two years, after scoring a $20 billion contract to produce F-47 jets for the US Air Force in March 2025.
• The company’s entire order backlog stood at a staggering $715 billion at the end of June, roughly $600 billion of which is for commercial craft. It has 1,500 orders for the 737 MAX 10 already.

To the Moon: Boeing will face at least one more big test before the end of the year. On Monday, NASA said it will launch the latest test flight of the company’s Starliner space capsule to the International Space Station as soon as December. The Starliner’s previous test flight in 2024 left two US astronauts stranded on the International Space Station for nine months; the trip had been scheduled to last only a week. This time, the mission will be unmanned.