LONG BEACH - For the next decade, Boeing Co. employees in Long Beach will provide technological enhancements to the U.S. Air Force's fleet of C-17 airplanes.
Government officials recently awarded Boeing a $895 million contract to provide software and hardware upgrades to the C-17 Globemaster III weapon system, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The contract is the latest good news for the endangered production line, following a string of foreign deals, as U.S. military orders have ceased.
"Boeing is pleased to support the U.S. Air Force with operational enhancements for the C-17 Globemaster III advanced airlifter," Boeing said in a statement Wednesday. "The recent contract announcement provides integrated software, hardware upgrades and development efforts to the C-17 during the next 10 years. C-17s are the backbone of the Air Force, and these enhancements further support the most advanced airlift capabilities in the world."
A Boeing spokeswoman said the work will be based in Long Beach through Dec. 27, 2022, but that no new workers will be hired. Company officials, she said, remain "focused on meeting the demand for affordable, reliable and capable airlift globally and do not anticipate changes to employment as a result of this award."
This is among a handful of contracts recently awarded by the Air Force, including a contract in October 2012 to provide support services such as planning, purchasing and material
management through the C-17's Integrated Sustainment Program.
The program, which started in 1998 with 42 aircraft, now covers 246 worldwide, with the latest contract covering fiscal years 2013 through 2017, according to Boeing.
The contracts are a glimpse of Boeing's future in Long Beach for at least the next 10 years.
About 250 C-17s have been manufactured for use worldwide, including 218 for the the U.S. Air Force, since 1991. The C-17 is valued for its versatility as one of the largest cargo and personnel transport planes with the capability of taking off and landing on short, rough runways.
However, for years dwindling domestic demand has threatened to shut down the program, which employs more than 4,000 people in Long Beach.
To help preserve the assembly line, Boeing officials in 2010 reduced the production rate of the C-17s from 15 to 10 annually.
Meanwhile, they have been seeking out foreign customers, who are buying at least 60 percent of the C-17s that are now being made. Boeing has already wooed buyers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Australia and, most recently, India, which ordered 10 C-17s. The countries have been using the planes on humanitarian and disaster relief missions.
Current orders, which include India's and the remaining domestic order, take the production line up through the third quarter of 2014.
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