ST LOUIS, Mo., and WASHINGTON — It’s no secret that Boeing is in a bind. Regulators are scrutinizing the planemaker’s commercial business, whose woes have also attracted the attention of federal prosecutors. And ill-performing, fixed-price development contracts are forcing the company’s defense unit to hemorrhage cash, despite executives’ best efforts to staunch the bleeding. At least for its defense business, Boeing executives are hoping that futuristic air dominance technologies can help turn things around. And to that end, the company has leaned forward, betting billions to build up new manufacturing facilities at the firm’s hub of fighter production in St....
