The Boeing representatives, cursing under their breath, rushed between the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and New York, venting their frustration toward the Lockheed Martin leadership and their families. According to Boeing's latest intelligence, these scoundrels had secretly negotiated with the Pentagon and Air Force representatives before acquiring the stealth technology, discussing the feasibility of retrofitting electronic reconnaissance and early warning aircraft once the technology was obtained.
No one had anticipated how quickly they would move.
Just as Lockheed Martin acquired the technology, they immediately presented it to the Air Force, persuading them to initiate a verification program for applying this technology to Boeing's electronic reconnaissance aircraft. The Air Force, more interested in whether the technology could be used than in its origins, quickly agreed to start testing it.
Boeing was livid, furious that their territory had been encroached upon.
The situation worsened when, before Boeing's representatives could even reach the Pentagon, news came that the Air Force had preliminarily approved Lockheed Martin's proposal to retrofit two RC-135 strategic electronic reconnaissance aircraft stationed in East Asia with stealth technology as a test case for upgrading all subsonic aircraft.
It was a thunderclap.
For Boeing, which had just received the news and was still scrambling to respond, this was a disastrous development. Lockheed Martin had already persuaded the Air Force and secured the crucial first contract.
The CEO of Boeing almost had a heart attack.
Why? Not only because the two planes in question were based on the Boeing 707 platform, causing public embarrassment for the company, but also because Lockheed Martin had secured the first-mover advantage. With experience gained from this initial modification, Lockheed Martin would be in a stronger position to dominate future contracts.
The only option for Boeing now was to act fast—get the technology from that writer at any cost, leverage their connections, and secure a contract for the first round of test retrofits.
Boeing believed that as the original manufacturer of the RC-135, they were best equipped to handle its modifications. As long as they weren't too far behind Lockheed Martin, Boeing's technical foundation gave their CEO confidence that they could catch up to the competition.
The key now was to persuade Congress to delay approving Lockheed Martin's proposal until Boeing could acquire the technology and secure contracts. On another front, it was imperative to negotiate with the writer who held the key to the technology.
Boeing had urgently convened its board of directors. Upon learning that the writer, Castle, owned shares in both Northrop and Lockheed Martin—facilitating their access to the technology—the board unanimously agreed to offer a small portion of Boeing's shares in exchange for the technology as quickly as possible.
Initially, Boeing had considered acquiring the technology from Castle when they first learned about it. However, Lockheed Martin and Northrop had effectively "shielded" him, leaving Boeing without an opportunity to approach the prolific writer. The board had decided to wait until Castle completed his development of the technology and then approach him through high-level government channels.
At the time, none of the directors or the chairman realized the severity of the situation. Who could have predicted that the writer's development would proceed so quickly? Or that Lockheed Martin would brazenly approach the Pentagon as soon as they acquired the technology?
Lockheed Martin had already secretly arranged with the Air Force to modify two planes as test cases. Worse, the planes were Boeing-made RC-135s based on the 707 platform.
The slap in the face was loud and painful.
Now desperate, Boeing decided that they couldn't hesitate any longer. Knowing that Northrop and Lockheed Martin had each offered shares in their companies to acquire the technology, Boeing resolved to do the same.
Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman's lack of action was notable. Despite the tantalizing opportunity, they had made no major moves to compete with Lockheed Martin for the Air Force's retrofit program.
The reason? Northrop Grumman was overwhelmed with other projects.
Having recently secured a contract to retrofit B-2 stealth bombers, they were also working on validating the stealth system for the next-generation X-47B unmanned stealth attack aircraft, which had just had a successful test flight. Additionally, Northrop was accelerating the development of their "Super Tomcat" project.
Given these priorities, Northrop Grumman had no resources to spare for the retrofit contract Lockheed Martin proposed. Instead, they focused on completing their current projects, confident that they would get their share of the pie later.
Moreover, Northrop Grumman saw little risk in letting Lockheed Martin take the lead. They knew that the Pentagon would never allow one company to monopolize such a massive contract. Boeing was bound to fight back.
As for Castle, Northrop Grumman had a particular appreciation for his contributions. His semi-intelligent flight control system was instrumental in the success of the X-47B. The military had already expressed unofficial approval of the X-47B and indicated that the aircraft would have an edge in future procurement competitions if Northrop Grumman continued its current trajectory.
Northrop Grumman also remained confident in their technical capabilities. They believed their ongoing work on the X-47B and Super Tomcat would demonstrate their prowess to the Pentagon, ensuring they were not sidelined.
With this mindset, Northrop Grumman focused on refining their existing projects rather than chasing new ones.
That left Boeing, now lagging behind and cursing Lockheed Martin's underhanded tactics, scrambling to catch up. Representatives rushed to Castle's location in New York, determined to strike a deal.
Castle, meanwhile, was largely unaware of the corporate machinations. Although he had received invitations from both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, he had no direct involvement in their internal affairs.
His primary interest lay in Northrop Grumman's "Super Tomcat" project. As a lifelong fan of the F-14, Castle had approached Northrop Grumman specifically to pursue this endeavor.
The "Super Tomcat" being developed by Northrop Grumman was based on the aerodynamic design of the YF-23, their losing entry in the military's previous fighter competition. With Castle's semi-intelligent flight control system, the project had even reintroduced the variable-sweep wings that made the original F-14 famous.
Freed from the need for folding wings—previously required for carrier operations—the Super Tomcat's wings were now far more robust than those of its predecessor.
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