Boeing will cease production of its C-17 Globemaster III airlifter and close the final assembly facility in Long Beach, California in 20...
Boeing will cease production of its C-17 Globemaster III airlifter and close the final assembly facility in Long Beach, California in 2015, company said in a press release.
Boeing will continue after-delivery support of the worldwide C-17 fleet as part of the C-17 Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Performance-Based Logistics agreement. The GISP "virtual fleet" arrangement will provide the highest airlift mission-capable rate at one of the lowest costs per flying hour.
"Ending C-17 production was a very difficult but necessary decision," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "We want to thank the highly skilled and talented employees who have built this great airlifter for more than two decades– and those who will help us as we continue to build the remaining 22 aircraft and support and modernize the global fleet for decades to come. The C-17 remains the world's most capable airlifter with unmatched readiness and cost effectiveness."
Boeing continues the production at 10 C-17s per year for 22 additional new aircraft, in which seven are destined for the Indian air force, while two more are for an undisclosed customer. The thirteen remaining aircraft have no firm orders.
"Our customers around the world face very tough budget environments. While the desire for the C-17's capabilities is high, budgets cannot support additional purchases in the timing required to keep the production line open," Muilenburg added. "What's more, here in the United States the sequestration situation has created significant planning difficulties for our customers and the entire aerospace industry. Such uncertainty forces difficult decisions like this C-17 line closure. We will continue to make tough but necessary decisions to drive affordability and preserve our ability to invest for the future."
Nearly 3,000 employees support the C-17 production program in Long Beach; Macon, Ga.;Mesa, Arizona and St. Louis. Workforce reductions will begin in early 2014 and continue through closure. Boeing will provide employee assistance including job search resources, financial counseling, retirement seminars and help locating potential jobs within and outside of the company.
Additionally, the C-17 industrial team includes more than 650 suppliers in 44 states in US. Boeing and its suppliers provide 20,000 jobs in support of C-17 production.
Since the first flight on Sept. 15, 1991, the C-17 has amassed more than 2.6 million flying hours supporting airlift of troops and large cargo, precision airdrop of humanitarian supplies and life saving aeromedical missions.
Boeing has delivered 257 C-17s, including 223 to the U.S. Air Force, and a total of 34 to Australia, Canada,India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, theUnited Kingdomand the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.
C-17s have been involved in contingency operations of all types, including flying troops and equipment to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The airlifter also has been used in humanitarian missions around the world, including the Japanese and Indian Ocean tsunamis of 2011 and 2004, respectively; Hurricane Katrina in 2005; and the Haitian earthquake of 2010.
The C-17 holds 33 world records – more than any other airlifter in history – including payload-to-altitude, time-to-climb and short-takeoff-and-landing marks. It has exceeded 2.6 million flight hours, playing an integral role in global strategic airlift.
Boeing delivered the 223rd and last U.S. Air Force C-17 on 12 Sept.
