Autonomous vehicles have been a constant source of inspiration and wonder among consumers for years now. As it turns out, aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has its own skin in that game, as the Chinook helicopter now has autonomous landing capability. This revelation did not go far with investors, though, who sent Boeing shares down over 2% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The feature is anything but standard yet. However, a recent test of Boeing’s Approach-to-X (A2X) system managed to bring the aircraft to a final approach, and then ultimately a landing. This is designed to show that a Chinook can operate with a reduced crew, or potentially even without a pilot aboard.
The A2X system allows a set of key parameters to be set in advance—landing zone, final altitude, start speed and approach angle—and then the software takes over the controls, behaving according to that set of pre-set conditions to move to a location and settle down there. Adjustments can be made while the aircraft is in flight, giving it significant operational flexibility.
Improved Order
Boeing got some more good news from Ethiopian Airlines, as it took advantage of some options to buy further aircraft. The airline—Africa’s largest at last report—agreed to buy another six 787-9 Dreamliner jets to step up its long-haul presence.
The group’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew, noted, “There are mature routes we need. There are routes that we wanted to fly, but we couldn’t do because of shortage of airplanes – like Australia.” But the aircraft will also see some use domestically, reports note, as Tasew pointed out some routes that Ethiopian would like to run larger aircraft in within Africa itself.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 14 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 38.49% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $274.92 per share implies 25.08% upside potential.
