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Commitments And Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments And Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies
Environmental
The following table summarizes environmental remediation activity during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
 
2015

 
2014

Beginning balance – January 1

$601

 

$649

Reductions for payments made
(16
)
 
(19
)
Changes in estimates
5

 
16

Ending balance – March 31

$590

 

$646


The liabilities recorded represent our best estimate or the low end of a range of reasonably possible costs expected to be incurred to remediate sites, including operation and maintenance over periods of up to 30 years. It is reasonably possible that we may incur charges that exceed these recorded amounts because of regulatory agency orders and directives, changes in laws and/or regulations, higher than expected costs and/or the discovery of new or additional contamination. As part of our estimating process, we develop a range of reasonably possible alternate scenarios that includes the high end of a range of reasonably possible cost estimates for all remediation sites for which we have sufficient information based on our experience and existing laws and regulations. There are some potential remediation obligations where the costs of remediation cannot be reasonably estimated. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the high end of the estimated range of reasonably possible remediation costs exceeded our recorded liabilities by $865 and $874.
Product Warranties
The following table summarizes product warranty activity recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
 
2015

 
2014

Beginning balance – January 1

$1,504

 

$1,570

Additions for current year deliveries
116

 
138

Reductions for payments made
(91
)
 
(106
)
Changes in estimates
(17
)
 
47

Ending balance - March 31

$1,512

 

$1,649


Commercial Aircraft Commitments
In conjunction with signing definitive agreements for the sale of new aircraft (Sale Aircraft), we have entered into trade-in commitments with certain customers that give them the right to trade in used aircraft at a specified price upon the purchase of Sale Aircraft. The probability that trade-in commitments will be exercised is determined by using both quantitative information from valuation sources and qualitative information from other sources. The probability of exercise is assessed quarterly, or as events trigger a change, and takes into consideration the current economic and airline industry environments. Trade-in commitments, which can be terminated by mutual consent with the customer, may be exercised only during the period specified in the agreement, and require advance notice by the customer.
Trade-in commitment agreements at March 31, 2015 have expiration dates from 2015 through 2026. At March 31, 2015, and December 31, 2014 total contractual trade-in commitments were $2,254 and $2,392. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, we estimated that it was probable we would be obligated to perform on certain of these commitments with net amounts payable to customers totaling $430 and $446 and the fair value of the related trade-in aircraft was $430 and $446.
Financing Commitments
Financing commitments related to aircraft on order, including options and those proposed in sales campaigns, totaled $15,853 and $16,723 as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014. The estimated earliest potential funding dates for these commitments as of March 31, 2015 are as follows:
  
Total

April through December 2015

$1,802

2016
3,373

2017
3,633

2018
2,501

2019
1,634

Thereafter
2,910

 

$15,853


As of March 31, 2015, all of these financing commitments related to customers we believe have less than investment-grade credit. We have concluded that no reserve for future potential losses is required for these financing commitments based upon the terms, such as collateralization and interest rates, under which funding would be provided.
Standby Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds
We have entered into standby letters of credit and surety bonds with financial institutions primarily relating to the guarantee of our future performance on certain contracts. Contingent liabilities on outstanding letters of credit agreements and surety bonds aggregated approximately $3,585 and $3,985 as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014.
Commitments to ULA
We and Lockheed Martin Corporation have each committed to provide ULA with up to $527 of additional capital contributions in the event ULA does not have sufficient funds to make a required payment to us under an inventory supply agreement. See Note 5.
C-17
We plan to end production of C-17 aircraft in 2015. At March 31, 2015, seven aircraft remained unsold, while our backlog included international orders for two C-17 aircraft that are scheduled for delivery in 2015. We are currently incurring costs and have made commitments to suppliers related to unsold aircraft. We have active sales campaigns and believe it is probable that we will recover costs related to the unsold aircraft from international customer orders. Should orders for the seven unsold aircraft not materialize or should we decide to discontinue production of unsold aircraft, we could incur further charges to write-down inventory and/or record termination liabilities. At March 31, 2015, we had approximately $1,224 of capitalized precontract costs and $204 of potential termination liabilities to suppliers associated with unsold aircraft.
F/A-18
At March 31, 2015, our backlog included 57 F/A-18 aircraft under contract with the U.S. Navy. The orders in backlog, combined with anticipated orders for 15 aircraft funded in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, would complete production in 2017. The President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request submitted in February 2015 did not include funding for additional F/A-18 aircraft. In March 2015, the Navy included 12 F/A-18s in its unfunded priorities list submitted to the congressional defense committees for funding consideration. We are also continuing to pursue additional orders from international customers. Should additional orders not materialize, it is reasonably possible that we will decide in the next twelve months to end production of the F/A-18 at a future date. We are still evaluating the full financial impact of a potential production shutdown, including any recovery that may be available from the U.S. government.
United States Government Defense Environment Overview
U.S. government appropriation levels remain subject to significant uncertainty. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act (The Act) established limits on U.S. government discretionary spending, including a reduction of defense spending by approximately $490 billion between the 2012 and 2021 U.S. government fiscal years. The Act also provided that the defense budget would face “sequestration” cuts of up to an additional $500 billion during that same period to the extent that discretionary spending limits are exceeded. While the impact of sequestration cuts was reduced with respect to FY2014 and FY2015 following the enactment of The Bipartisan Budget Act in December 2013, significant uncertainty remains with respect to overall levels of defense spending. It is likely that U.S. government discretionary spending levels for FY2016 and beyond will continue to be subject to significant pressure, including risk of future sequestration cuts.
Significant uncertainty also continues with respect to program-level appropriations for the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. DoD) and other government agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, within the overall budgetary framework described above. Future budget cuts, including cuts mandated by sequestration, or future procurement decisions associated with the authorization and appropriations process could result in reductions, cancellations and/or delays of existing contracts or programs. Any of these impacts could have a material effect on the results of the Company's operations, financial position and/or cash flows.
In addition to the risks described above, if Congress is unable to pass appropriations bills in a timely manner, a government shutdown could result which may have impacts above and beyond those resulting from budget cuts or sequestration impacts. For example, requirements to furlough employees in the U.S. DoD or other government agencies could result in payment delays, impair our ability to perform work on existing contracts, and/or negatively impact future orders.
KC-46A Tanker and BDS Fixed-Price Development Contracts

Fixed-price development work is inherently uncertain and subject to significant variability in estimates of the cost and time required to complete the work. BDS fixed-price contracts with significant development work include Airborne Early Warning and Control, Commercial Crew, India P-8I, Saudi F-15, USAF KC-46A Tanker and commercial and military satellites. The operational and technical complexities of these contracts create financial risk, which could trigger termination provisions, order cancellations or other financially significant exposure. Changes to cost and revenue estimates could result in lower margins or material charges for reach-forward losses. For example, during the second quarter of 2014, higher estimated costs to complete the KC-46A Tanker contract for the U.S. Air Force resulted in a reach-forward loss of $425 of which the Commercial Airplanes segment recorded $238 and the Boeing Military Aircraft segment recorded $187.
Recoverable Costs on Government Contracts  
Our final incurred costs for each year are subject to audit and review for allowability by the U.S. government, which can result in payment demands related to costs they believe should be disallowed. We work with the U.S government to assess the merits of claims and where appropriate reserve for amounts disputed. If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve disputed costs, we could be required to record an earnings charge and/or provide refunds to the U.S. government.
Russia/Ukraine
We continue to monitor political unrest involving Russia and Ukraine, where we and some of our suppliers source titanium products and/or have operations. A number of our commercial customers also have operations in Russia and Ukraine. To date, we have not experienced any significant disruptions to production or deliveries. Should suppliers or customers experience disruption, our production and/or deliveries could be materially impacted.
747 and 787 Commercial Airplane Programs
The development and initial production of new commercial airplanes and new commercial airplane derivatives, which include the 747 and 787, entail significant commitments to customers and suppliers as well as substantial investments in working capital, infrastructure and research and development. The 747 and 787 programs had gross margins that were breakeven or near breakeven during the three months ended March 31, 2015.
Lower-than-expected demand for large commercial passenger and freighter aircraft have resulted in ongoing pricing pressures and fewer 747 orders than anticipated. We continue to have a number of unsold 747 production positions. If market, production, and other risks cannot be mitigated, the program could face a reach-forward loss that may be material.
The combination of production challenges, change incorporation, schedule delays and customer and supplier impacts has created significant pressure on 787 program profitability. If risks related to this program, including risks associated with planned production rate increases or introducing and manufacturing the 787-10 derivative as scheduled cannot be mitigated, the program could face additional customer claims and/or supplier assertions, as well as a reach-forward loss that may be material.