Boeing Puts Down Its Bet—On the C-17: Boeing officials are spending the company dime to purchase C-17 parts to keep the production process in play, according to Otto Kreisher of Copley News Service. They may still hope that Congress would step in to overturn the Pentagon plan to limit production to just 180 of the new airlifters. However, Boeing Vice President John Sams says he does not know how long the company can put off a decision to cut off suppliers and start shutting down the C-17 line in Long Beach, Calif. Sams, for one, does not buy the new DOD position that the Air Force would be better off with more tankers to double as cargo haulers when they are not refueling other aircraft.
Air Force Global Strike Command has finished collecting a second round of test samples looking for hazardous chemicals at its three intercontinental ballistic missile bases and plans to expand testing to Vandenberg Space Force Base early next year, officials said Dec. 1.