Boeing‘s (NYSE: BA) defense, space and security business earned $7.2 billion in revenue for the first quarter of its 2021 fiscal year, a 19 percent increase from the same period a year ago.
The segment accounted for almost half of the total $15.2 billion company revenue for the quarter and reported a 5.6 percent increase in operating margins, which the Chicago-based aerospace and defense company attributed to sales of its KC-46A military tanker aircraft.
Q1 military aircraft orders reached $7 billion and included contracts to manufacture 27 KC-46A tankers for the U.S. Air Force, 11 P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol planes for the U.S. Navy and the Australian air force, and six V-22 Osprey helicopters for domestic defense customers.
Boeing also began producing the T-7A Red Hawk pilot training system for the branch in February and delivered its first F-15EX fighter aircraft to USAF last month.
Other Q1 accomplishments included the completion of Space Launch System hot-fire testing work with NASA and a major upgrade to the Navy’s EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
David Calhoun, president and CEO of Boeing, told employees that the company’s defense, space and service portfolios continue to drive operations amid global trade and pandemic-related events.
“While the impacts of COVID-19 continue to challenge the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery,” Calhoun added.
