Boeing received $14 billion contract with US Air Force amid 737 MAX controversy

Boeing received $14 billion contract with US Air Force amid 737 MAX controversy
# 13 April 2019 16:43 (UTC +04:00)

American aerospace giant Boeing has received a $14.3 billion contract with the US Air Force to modify, modernise, engineer, sustain, and test the weapon systems for the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers, ONA reports citing Sputnik.

According to a statement by the Department of Defence, the systems will allow the bombers to increase their survivability against air defences and their ability to successfully carry out missions.

"This B-1/B-52 Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment contract provides for the upcoming modernization and sustainment efforts to increase lethality, enhance survivability, improve supportability, and increase responsiveness", the statement read.

The work set to be carried out under the contract was not further specified, but will last until 2029. Earlier, Boeing was awarded a three-year contract to modernise 78 US Navy F/A-18 Block II Super Hornets to the Block III model for approximately $4 billion on 20 March 2019.

The aerospace giant received both contracts following the global grounding of its civilian 737 MAX model due to concerns that it could have a critical flaw that may have led to two airplane crashes in five months. An investigation has shown that a fault in the 737 MAX's anti-stall system could have caused the crash of the Ethiopian Airways and Lion Air planes, which together claimed the lives of 346 people.

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