Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman were also in the running. And that's how it has worked for a while: a few companies trading contract awards. That's how we got the F-22 and the F-35. General Dynamics won the F-16, and so forth. The contract is always going to go to one of the giant American aerospace contractors, therefore we can dismiss nationalistic concerns. But why Boeing over the other companies? You're right: who knows? Given Boeing's recent stumbles, it's valid to wonder if they really did beat out the other contenders. But while the commercial airplanes division is circling the drain, you still have a fair amount of competence in the military systems division. And some too still in the space division. The
economics of military contracting isn't the same as commercial airplanes, so it's less likely to be messed up by the people who are looting the company and undercutting quality.