Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he’s not concerned by a potential production gap in US military widebody aircraft once Boeing’s C-17 production line closes. “There is significant [commercial] wide-body aircraft production capability in the United States, and we have more than enough time to adjust it to a military production line if we need to,” he said Wednesday during a hearing with Senate defense appropriators. His was responding to questions from Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Bond was concerned about the ramifications to the strategic airlift industrial base if C-17 production stopped. Murray asserted the US “would have absolutely no [domestic] wide-bodied military aircraft production left” if EADS North America wins the Air Force’s KC-X tanker contest and the C-17 line is shuttered. (EADS has committed to building its KC-X tankers in Mobile, Ala., if chosen over Boeing.)
Budget Calls for More Airmen, More Guardians in 2027
April 21, 2026
The Air Force and Space Force would both expand their ranks next year under the Pentagon's proposed $1.5 trillion 2027 budget.