The U.S. military awarded Boeing a key new contract to build the latest generation of jet fighters over rival Lockheed Martin. The decision is moving both stocks even as the usefulness of expensive, manned fighters is in debate as cheaper drones proliferate.

U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Boeing on Friday the contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet yet, handing the company a much-needed win and boosting its shares. The Next Generation Air Dominance program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin had been competing to score the Pentagon contract for a next-generation fighter jet, with the deal valued at $20 billion or more.