
ST. LOUIS—Dating back about 18 months, the State Department has given Boeing [BA] permission to speak to four countries—Australia, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom—about its MQ-25 unmanned aircraft system the company is currently developing as an aerial refueling platform for the Navy, company officials said this week. The license allows Boeing to discuss the capabilities of the aircraft but not technical data, Troy Rutherford, vice president and MQ-25 program manager for the company, said on Tuesday during a series…