tiprankstipranks
Boeing Completes Unmanned Flight Tests In Australia; Analyst Sees 44% Upside
Market News

Boeing Completes Unmanned Flight Tests In Australia; Analyst Sees 44% Upside

Boeing announced on Wednesday that it had completed flight tests with five high-performance surrogate jets operating autonomously in a team in Australia, as part of a project for the development of unmanned defense aircraft using artificial intelligence.

The aerospace giant said that testing at the Queensland flight test range in Cloncurry lasted 10 days, with aircraft incrementally added until the five operated together. The testing is part of Boeing’s (BA) Airpower Teaming System programme, which has developed the Royal Australian Air Force’s “Loyal Wingman” aircraft prototype, the first military unmanned aircraft to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years. The unmanned teaming aircraft is Boeing’s first military jet developed outside the US that uses artificial intelligence to boost the capacities of manned and unmanned platforms.

During testing, the aircraft reached speeds of 270 kilometers (167 miles) per hour. Specifically, Boeing’s advanced autonomy technology, including on-board command and control and data sharing capabilities, were tested using the 3.4-meter (11-foot) aircraft.

“With the size, number and speed of aircraft used in the test, this is a very significant step for Boeing and industry in the progress of autonomous mission systems technology,” said Emily Hughes, director of Boeing’s Phantom Works International. “The tests demonstrated our success in applying artificial intelligence algorithms to ‘teach’ the aircraft’s brain to understand what is required of it.”

“The data link capabilities enabled the aircraft to communicate with the other platforms so that they could collaborate to achieve a mission,” Hughes added.

During the project, Boeing has worked with over 90 personnel from a number of small-to-medium enterprises including RFDesigns, Amber Technology Ltd., Premier Box, McDermott Aviation and Five Rings Aerospace.

BA stock has seen some relief, surging 43% over the past month as investors were anticipating the lifting of the flying ban on its 737 Max jets. Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suspended a 20-month grounding order that halted commercial operations of Boeing’s 737-8s and 737-9s, following two fatal crashes. In the US, commercial flights are scheduled to start on Dec. 29.

However, shares are still down 35% year-to-date as COVID-19 travel restrictions have resulted in a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services Boeing customers need over the next few years. (See BA stock analysis on TipRanks)

In a bullish note, Robert W. Baird analyst Peter Arment this week reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a Street high $306 price target (44% upside potential), amid expectations that the flight line is going to get busier than ever now that the 737-Max is back.

Meanwhile, Arment’s proprietary analysis shows that Boeing is set to report about six aircraft deliveries in November with a lack of 737 deliveries. The analyst noted that the company has 57 of the 787 aircraft awaiting delivery as production has been on a run-rate of 10 per month all year.

The rest of the Street has a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy analyst consensus on the stock. That’s with an average analyst price target of $200.72, indicating 5.8% downside potential over the coming 12 months.

Related News:
Boeing 737 Max Europe Flying Ban Seen Lifted In January – Report
Nasdaq To Snap Up Verafin For $2.75B In Fraud Detection Push
FireEye Surges 17% On Investment & Acquisition Deal, Analyst Lifts PT

Trending

Name
Price
Price Change
S&P 500
Dow Jones
Nasdaq 100
Bitcoin

Popular Articles