Boeing [BA] said Wednesday it will complete production of its C-17 Globemaster III airlifter and close the C-17 final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., in 2015.
Boeing Vice President and C-17 Program Manager Nan Bouchard said Wednesday in a conference call that, despite strong international interest, Boeing did not receive sufficient orders to continue to protect the C-17 production line beyond 2015. Bouchard said Boeing will continue the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) through fiscal year 2017 with annual options through FY ’21.
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| Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. Photo: Air Force. |
Bouchard said while sequestration in the United States created “significant planning difficulties,” the decision to end C-17 production was based on buying signals from international customers.
“We made the decision based on the timing of international orders and whether or not we could continue to do the long-lead funding,” Bouchard said. “Of course the uncertainty around sequestration and the overall environment does lend some more cautiousness…but it was largely based off of what we learned by talking with international customers and what their planned timing was for future orders.”
Bouchard said Boeing has 22 remaining C-17 aircraft to build, 13 of which the company doesn’t have firm orders. Production will continue at a rate of 10 jets per year until completion.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter earlier this week traveled to India, where he was briefed by Indian Air Force pilots on India’s co-produced C-130Js and recently procured C-17s, according to a DoD statement. Boeing spokeswoman Cindy Anderson said yesterday Boeing has delivered three C-17s to India this year and will deliver two more this year and five in 2014.
Nearly 3,000 employees support the C-17 production program in Long Beach; Macon, Ga.; Mesa, Ariz.; and St. Louis. Workforce reductions will begin in early 2014, the company said, and will continue through closure. Additionally, the C-17 industrial team includes more than 650 suppliers in 44 states.
Boeing has delivered 257 C-17s, including 223 to the Air Force and a total of 34 to Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of the NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. Boeing delivered the 223rd and final C-17 to the Air Force Sept. 12, fulfilling its production contract.