Boeing wins 3bn C-17 contract
08 / 02 / 2009
BOEING has won a US$3 billion (£2 billion) contract to build 15 C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets for the US Air Force (USAF). The planes will be built in the company’s Long Beach plant in California.
“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 US Air Force to provide an affordable option for meeting current and future airlift needs.”
At one point, the Long Beach production line was expected to deliver its last C-17 in mid-2009 but Boeing has been aggressively pursuing contracts to extend the production line. As a result, as well as the USAF, Boeing has managed to win contracts from countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.
Qatar has also signed a deal with Boeing to buy two airlifters and three C-17s with the cost to be shared by 10 NATO member countries, Sweden and Finland.
