Last month, Boeing and its subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences for follow-up Virgin Galactic, accusing Richard Branson’s space company of skipping invoices and keeping trade secrets. Now Virgin has hit back.
Last week, the company sued Boeing and Aurora, accusing the struggling aerospace company of “shoddy and incomplete work.” According to ReutersVirgin Galactic said Boeing was violating its contract and trying to illegally force the return of intellectual property.
Virgin Galactic is seeking damages totaling $45 million, an amount it said it has already paid to Aurora to help develop its next-generation mothership, which is the large jet that carries the starship Virgin at the edge of space. The company claimed the amount paid was “significantly higher than the true value of Boeing’s performance.”
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In a statement obtained by Reuters, Boeing blasted the complaint and said “we intend to vigorously defend our intellectual property and the work done.”
The public battle between the two aerospace companies began last month when Boeing filed a complaint against Virgin Galactic, claiming more than $26 million in unpaid bills. Boeing’s complaint also accused Branson’s company of refusing to remove “the equations.”
“These equations allow Boeing and Aurora to model aircraft stability and control with exceptional accuracy beyond that commonly available in the aerospace industry,” the lawsuit states. “These equations are valuable to Boeing and Aurora because they give them a distinct competitive advantage in accurately modeling aircraft stability and control.”
The legal battle comes as Boeing attempts a culture change amid increased scrutiny and investigations into its manufacturing practices following high-profile problems with its planes. This includes an incident earlier this year when an Alaska Airlines flight lost a sign mid-flight.
For Virgin Galactic, the battle between Mothership and Boeing is playing out as the company focuses on completing work on its Delta-class spacecraft and opening a new factory in Arizona this year.
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