By Dan Catchpole (Reuters) -A strike by machinists at Boeing Defense in St. Louis reached 53 days on Friday, matching last year's walkout by fellow International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union members in the Northwest who make most of the company's commercial jets. Last year's strike ended with substantial concessions from Boeing. This time around, management has refused to significantly improve upon offers already rejected by the roughly 3,200 machinists on strike since August 4 in the St. Louis area. There is no sign of when negotiations will resume, union leaders and the company said. Boeing faces far less economic pressure than it did during the 2024 strike because the current work stoppage largely affects military programs producing at low rates or still in testing rather than the company's cash-cow 737 jetliner program, AeroDynamic Advisory Managing Director Richard Aboulafia said.