Boeing on Thursday will deliver the Air Force’s 223rd C-17 transport—the service’s last C-17 on order—during a ceremony at the company’s final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif. Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Paul Selva, Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke, and Air Force Reserve Command chief Lt. Gen. James Jackson are scheduled to accept the factory-fresh airlifter. Boeing Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick and Boeing’s C-17 Program Manager Nan Bouchard will represent the company. “This is an important milestone for our employees, many who have been here since the early days when we were in the design phase,” Bouchard told the Daily Report. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. local time. Following the delivery, Selva, Clarke, and Jackson will board the C-17 for its cross-country flight to JB Charleston, S.C., the aircraft’s beddown location. The three generals are scheduled to speak in Charleston at the ceremony base officials are hosting to mark the occasion. Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing Defense, Space, and Security president, will also speak at the ceremony, which is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. local time. For more on the C-17 and its contributions and significance, continue to Global Workhorse.
The Department of the Air Force wants to launch a construction boom with its fiscal 2027 budget, more than doubling its request over 2026, according to budget documents.