Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTRich Smith, The Motley FoolSat, August 29, 2026 at 1:50 PM GMT+2 5 min readCivilian airplane builder Boeing's (NYSE: BA) on-again, off-again defense business is on once again raking in big contracts -- and earning money on them.As recently as 2024, Boeing was in the dumps. Boeing reported $12 billion in losses that year, with both its civilian commercial airplanes division and its military-focused defense, space, and security (BDS) unit deeply in the red. The company burned through more than $14 billion in negative free cash flow.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »But what a difference a year makes -- and what a bigger difference two years can make!According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Boeing's losses in commercial airplanes were still above $7 billion last year -- but BDS was close to breakeven. So far in 2026, the plane maker is doing even better. Commercial losses continue to shrink, and BDS is finally back in the black with a $218 million operating profit.And there may be more where that came from.Image source: Getty Images.Boeing's winning contracts againBoeing pulled a rabbit out of its flight helmet last year when it beat Lockheed Martin for the right to build a new sixth-generation fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force.Dubbed the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, the new airplane will mark a huge upgrade from the Air Force's current top-of-the-line air superiority fighter, the F-22. While details are scarce at this early date, reports indicate that when the F-47 arrives in 2028 (and enters service in the early 2030s), it will bring to the fight advanced stealth and electronic warfare capabilities, the ability to control autonomous drones in combat, and a range nearly twice that of the F-22 -- 1,000 miles.More importantly for Boeing, the F-47 will bring the company an estimated $20 billion to $50 billion in revenue to first develop the aircraft and then build 185 of them.This development revenue, which is already rolling in, is presumably already contributing to the turnaround at BDS. It may pale in significance to the company's latest defense win, however. This week, you see, Boeing was awarded an even bigger contract: $131.2 billion.Boeing's big F-15 winAnnounced on Monday, Aug. 24 in the Defense Department's daily digest of contract awards, the new "F-15 Eagle Crest" contract requires Boeing to perform "aircraft production, systems integration, modernization, upgrades, retrofits, sustainment, and the establishment of organic depot maintenance capabilities" across the Air Force's F-15 fleet -- and the air forces of Japan, Indonesia, Israel, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Korea.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info