Tanker Reprieve

Although Boeing officials say that they must cut off long-lead parts orders this month for the C-17 in preparation for closing the production line, the same is no longer true for the company’s 767 line. Mark McGraw, Boeing vice-president of tanker programs, said last week that the company has scrapped plans to shut down the 767 line—on which Boeing’s KC-767 tanker is based. Sales have picked up again, and “the talk of shutting down the 767 line has gone away,” McGraw said. Work proceeds on testing the KC-767 for Italy and Japan. The aircraft is developing well, McGraw said.