Manufacturer catalog

Boeing Defense and Space Group

Boeing Defense and Space Group was Boeing's defense-and-space operating group before the 1997 McDonnell Douglas merger reorganization. Contemporary Boeing and SEC materials describe the group as responsible for research, development, production, modification, and support of military aircraft, helicopters, space and missile systems, rocket engines, and information services, primarily under U.S. government contracts.

1 weapons

The label is most useful for legacy Boeing weapon records whose public sources name Boeing Defense and Space Group directly, especially systems documented by U.S. Air Force sources from the Cold War and immediate post-Cold War period. In 1996, Boeing's defense-and-space business sat beside Boeing Commercial Airplane Group as one of the company's two principal operating areas, and public merger materials said defense and space produced about one quarter of Boeing's 1996 revenue.

Boeing reorganized the group after completing the McDonnell Douglas merger in August 1997. The former Boeing Defense & Space Group leadership moved into the new Information, Space, and Defense Systems Group, which combined legacy Boeing defense programs with McDonnell aircraft, missiles, space, and communications units. The later Boeing Defense, Space & Security division carries the broader current defense-business lineage, while this page preserves the specific historic manufacturer name that appears in catalog source material.

Strategic cruise missilesMilitary aircraft and helicopter systemsSpace and missile systemsRocket engines and defense information servicesAir and missile defense successor programs

Notable Systems

AGM-86B/C/D Missiles, Air-launched cruise missile family, Munitions

AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile

Air-launched cruise missile family

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center identifies Boeing Defense and Space Group as contractor for the AGM-86 family and describes AGM-86B as the nuclear air-launched cruise missile developed for B-52H standoff missions.

Sources: Air-Launched Cruise Missile (AGM-86) | Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center
AGM-86B/C/D Missiles, Air-launched cruise missile family, Munitions

AGM-86C/D Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile

Air-launched cruise missile family

The same Air Force source describes AGM-86C/D CALCM variants as conventional conversions of the AGM-86B inventory, including Block I and penetrating-warhead AGM-86D configurations.

Sources: Air-Launched Cruise Missile (AGM-86) | Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center
Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Ground-based ballistic missile defense system, Air Defense

Ground-based Midcourse Defense

Ground-based ballistic missile defense system

Boeing reports that it has supported GMD as lead system integrator since the program's 1998 inception, making it a successor-organization missile-defense reference rather than a direct Boeing Defense and Space Group attribution.

Sources: Boeing-led GMD intercept test

Manufacturer History

  1. Defense and space described as Boeing's second principal business

    Boeing's 1997 merger proxy described defense-and-space operations as conducted through Boeing Defense & Space Group and covering military aircraft, helicopters, related systems, space and missile systems, rocket engines, and information services.

    Sources: Boeing/McDonnell Douglas merger proxy

  2. Alan Mulally named group president

    Boeing named Alan Mulally president of Boeing Defense & Space Group while Jerry King moved to lead the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas transition team.

    Sources: Boeing Defense & Space Group leadership release

  3. Group folded into Information, Space, and Defense Systems

    After the McDonnell Douglas merger, Boeing formed the Information, Space, and Defense Systems Group and named former Boeing Defense & Space Group president Alan Mulally as its president.

    Sources: The New Boeing Begins Operations as a Single Company

  4. Boeing defense headquarters returns to St. Louis

    Boeing said its Defense, Space & Security headquarters returned to St. Louis, a successor-division headquarters location where the defense business had been based from 1997 to 2017.

    Sources: Boeing Defense, Space & Security headquarters returns to St. Louis

Predecessors
Boeing military, missile, space, rotorcraft, rocket-engine, and information-services operations
Successors
Boeing Information, Space, and Defense Systems GroupBoeing Defense, Space & Security
Website links
Boeing defense portfolioBoeing Defense, Space & Security headquarters update1997 Boeing reorganization releaseAFNWC AGM-86 fact sheet

The exact Boeing Defense and Space Group name is a historic Boeing operating-group label. Current Boeing defense material is used only for successor-organization and portfolio context; direct catalog attribution remains tied to sources that name the legacy group.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Boeing/McDonnell Douglas merger proxyPublisher: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Note: Supports Boeing Defense & Space Group as the operating group for Boeing defense-and-space operations before the McDonnell Douglas merger, including military aircraft, helicopters, space and missile systems, rocket engines, information services, and 1996 business-segment context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Boeing Defense & Space Group leadership releasePublisher: Boeing | Note: Supports the Boeing Defense & Space Group name, Jerry King's transition role, and Alan Mulally's January 1997 appointment as group president. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • The New Boeing Begins Operations as a Single CompanyPublisher: Boeing | Note: Supports Boeing's post-merger organization, the formation of Information, Space, and Defense Systems Group, and the movement of former Boeing Defense & Space Group leadership into that successor organization. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Air-Launched Cruise Missile (AGM-86) | Air Force Nuclear Weapons CenterPublisher: Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center | Note: Supports the AGM-86 family description, AGM-86B/C/D variant background, production history, and the contractor attribution to Boeing Defense and Space Group. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Boeing-led GMD intercept testPublisher: Boeing | Note: Supports Boeing's lead-system-integrator role on Ground-based Midcourse Defense since 1998 and frames GMD as successor-organization missile-defense context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Boeing defense portfolioPublisher: Boeing | Note: Supports current Boeing defense focus areas including precision-guided munitions, layered air and missile defense, and strategic deterrent capabilities. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Boeing Defense, Space & Security headquarters returns to St. LouisPublisher: Boeing | Note: Supports current successor-division headquarters context and Boeing's statement that the defense headquarters was located in St. Louis from 1997 to 2017 before returning there in 2026. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • AGM-86B/C/D Air-launched Cruise Missile imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the public-domain U.S. Air Force AGM-86 image used for the manufacturer profile media. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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AGM-86B/C/D Missiles, Air-launched cruise missile family, Munitions1990 Gulf War, 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force +2 moreAGM-86B/C/D MissilesAir-launched cruise missile familyBuilt in: United StatesThe AGM-86B/C/D missiles are Boeing-built U.S. air-launched cruise missiles developed for B-52 bomber standoff strike. The AGM-86A prototype did not enter production; the longer-range AGM-86B became the nuclear ALCM, while the AGM-86C and AGM-86D CALCM conversions replaced the nuclear payload with conventional blast/fragmentation or penetrating warheads. Air Force material lists AGM-86B as the remaining active-force variant and says the C/D stockpile was demilitarized by October 2022.