Logo atop Boeing headquarters. Photo: Boeing.

Boeing‘s Defense, Space & Security division reported $7.2 billion in revenue in its first quarter 2021 (Q1) financial results, reflecting a 19% jump from the same period in 2020. The division also increased its operating margin to 5.6%. However, most of these gains were due to increased orders for military aircraft.

The division’s backlog now stands at $61 billion, of which 31% represents orders from customers outside the United States.

“I’m proud of how our team has stayed focused on our values and met key customer commitments through this historically challenging time,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a letter sent to Boeing employees. “For example, our Defense, Space & Security team delivered the first F-15EX Eagle II to the U.S. Air Force ahead of schedule. We also began production of the T-7A Red Hawk Advanced Trainer and successfully conducted the Green Run hot fire test for NASA’s Space Launch System.”

Boeing reported $15.2 billion in company-wide Q1 2021 revenues — a drop from its Q1 2020 total of $16.9 billion. As has been the case for Boeing during the past few years, the decline was primarily due to lagging aircraft sales. The overall parent company did manage to reduce its net loss from $641 million in Q1 2020 to $561 million in Q1 2021.

“While the global pandemic continues to challenge the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery,” Calhoun said.