Boeing Sues Virgin Galactic Over Unpaid Dues, Trade Secrets

Boeing and its subsidiary, Aurora Flight Sciences, have initiated legal action against Virgin Galactic, alleging unpaid dues exceeding US$25 million and the misappropriation of trade secrets related to a joint project for a new aircraft. 

The lawsuit, filed on Mar. 21 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, outlines Virgin Galactic's failure to fulfill payments for work on designing a new "mothership" aircraft and its retention of proprietary information inadvertently disclosed during the collaboration.

The dispute originated from a 2022 agreement in which Virgin Galactic enlisted Aurora Flight Sciences to develop a replacement for VMS Eve, its existing air-launch platform. Although the contract’s value remains undisclosed, the project aimed to deliver two aircraft by 2025. However, after completing preliminary design work in May 2023, Aurora determined that Virgin Galactic's desired mothership was unfeasible within budget and timeline constraints.

Boeing and Aurora contend that Virgin Galactic owes US$26.4 million in unpaid invoices from the project's task orders and allege unsuccessful attempts to resolve the payment dispute. Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Virgin Galactic of refusing to destroy proprietary documents provided by Aurora, which include technical specifications and test data crucial for modeling aircraft performance. 

In response, Virgin Galactic has disputed the allegations, asserting its rights to the shared information under the agreement. Despite Boeing's demands to discard the documents, Virgin Galactic insists on retaining them, escalating the legal conflict. 

"We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend ourselves in the appropriate forum," a Virgin Galactic spokesperson stated in response to the lawsuit. Beyond this statement, Virgin Galactic has refrained from further commentary on the ongoing legal battle.