Colorado-based Wilson Aerospace has sued Boeing, the aviation titan, accusing it of intellectual property theft related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (Nasa) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, said that Boeing used these trade secrets to manufacture components with "critical" safety defects, posing a potential risk to astronauts.
The claimant stated that it had collaborated with Boeing since 2014 for two years after the aerospace firm, apprehensive about the potential loss of Nasa contracts worth billions of dollars, sought its assistance in securely affixing engines to the rocket.
As per the legal complaint submitted in a federal court in Seattle, Boeing discontinued Wilson's involvement in the project but persisted in using its proprietary technology without obtaining "comprehensive instructions" on how to fabricate and install it, thereby causing safety concerns.
The lawsuit claims that "Boeing has garnered billions in revenue due to the violation of Wilson's trade secrets," and it demands Boeing to forfeit "all revenues and profits gained as a result."
Wilson further accused Boeing of pilfering trade secrets concerning bolt installation tools for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a task Boeing had requested Wilson to undertake in 2012.
Boeing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, refuted these accusations in a statement: "This lawsuit is teeming with inaccuracies and omissions. We will vigorously defend against these claims in court."
Wilson Aerospace, situated in Fort Collins, Colorado, and comprising its founder David Wilson, his son, and his wife, is seeking triple damages in the lawsuit.
Boeing has depicted Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS) as the most potent rocket ever created, stating it to be "the essential structure for establishing a sustained human existence in outer space."
This rocket, launched for the first time on November 16 last year without a crew, is a component of Nasa's Artemis program, aimed at returning astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.