Boeing will end production of the C-17 Globemaster III and close its Long Beach, Calif., final assembly facility in September 2015, three months earlier than originally expected. The schedule was adjusted based on “current market trends and the timing of expected orders,” states the release. Boeing delivered the US Air Force’s last new C-17 in September 2013. The aircraft, P-223, is the 223rd USAF Globemaster III and is assigned to JB Charleston, S.C. (See also Global Workhorse.)
Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.