Boeing will be moving its C-130 avionics modernization program and B-1 program offices from Long Beach, Calif., to Oklahoma City, Okla., the company announced Monday. These moves are meant to keep costs affordable, said company officials. The C-130 program will begin transferring in the first quarter of 2011. The B-1 presence will shift to Oklahoma City by the end of 2012. Roughly 550 positions will move to Oklahoma and about 250 jobs will be cut in the process, according to the company. The C-130 AMP entered its low-rate initial production phase in June, and Boeing continues to carry out numerous upgrades to the Air Force’s B-1 fleet.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
