It’s nearly a year now that we have heard about Boeing been busy in working on an understandably confidential smartphone project. Reports suggest that it would be a self-destructing phone for spies, which is dubbed as the Boeing Black.

And now we have come to know that BlackBerry is assisting Boeing in its smartphone project. Their association may sound weird to many as the proposed Boeing Black runs on Android. Again, it’s all very secretive.

During an earnings call on Friday, BlackBerry chairman and chief executive officer John Chen said, “Boeing is collaborating with BlackBerry to provide a secure mobile solution for Android devices utilizing our BES 12 platform.”

When asked about more details of the project, Chen said, “That’s all they allow me to say.”

He, however, said that Boeing has offered some details about the project on its website.

The experts say whatever the partnership terms and conditions involve, this is certainly an exciting development for BlackBerry, which is struggling a lot with the drop in its sales in the past.

BlackBerry’s willingness to work with Android is a good sign for the company as it clearly requires to work with something new in order the retain its customers and woo the new ones.

The partnership between the two clearly showcases a push by the second largest defense contractor of the US into software development as sales drop for its military hardware amid budget cuts by Pentagon. Meanwhile, BlackBerry also largely gains a new and sustainable technique to grab its hold on to the government base as commercial sales decline.