Ten in the Bag, Any More?

Dec. 20, 2006

The Air Force formally has awarded Boeing a contract valued at $2 billion to produce 10 additional C-17 strategic transports—carrying through with a Congressional mandate written into the Fiscal 2007 defense bill. Boeing spokesperson Kerry Gildea said the additional aircraft are “already factored into Boeing’s C-17 production plan.” Coupling those 10 USAF airframes with international orders means the production line will run into late 2009. However, company officials have warned that if USAF—or Congress—wants more C-17s, the time to say so is now.

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