Air Force Deal for 15 new C-17A's Approved

C-17A 07-7183 (P-183) rolls for takeoff on Rwy 30

as it departs on a pre-delivery test flight.

(Photo by Michael Carter)

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing Co. a $2.95 billion contract to build 15 more C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets, a move that extends the life of the production line to summer 2010, Boeing Co. officials announced Friday.

The award for the order, which had been approved by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in June, is good news for Long Beach, where more than 5,000 people work at the C-17 plant.
The Long Beach plant is Southern California's last major airplane manufacturing line and the city's largest private employer. "Fulfilling this critical airlift need for the Air Force will keep C-17s moving down our production line until at least August 2010, even as we complete existing orders from the Air Force and our international customers," Boeing officials said in a statement. "We will continue to work with Congress and the U.S. Air Force to provide an affordable option for meeting current and future airlift needs."

News reports say the USAF will use the C-17s to transport cargo or troops.
In recent years, Boeing officials have been aggressively pursuing domestic and international contract leads to stretch the Long Beach production line, which at one point expected to deliver its last C-17 in mid-2009.

But the C-17 program has been successful in gleaning international contracts with countries such as Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Also, the program recently signed with Qatar an agreement for the purchase of two airlifters and accepted orders for three Globemaster III long-range cargo jets with costs shared by 10 NATO members and non-NATO members Sweden and Finland.

(Long Beach Press Telegram)