With the future of the C-17 program still a mystery—Pentagon officials continue, month after month, to sit on the long-awaited Mobility Capabilities Study—Boeing has made a move. Company officials Ron Marcotte and Dave Bowman told reporters Boeing is investing its own money in trying to keep the line going after the 180th Globemaster rolls off. Boeing is delivering #142 right now, said Bowman, adding, “Timing is still an issue.” The company and key suppliers believe DOD will ask for more C-17s; not doing so would be strange, even for this Pentagon. “Tens of millions of dollars are at risk,” Marcotte said, speaking from the Airlift/Tanker Association Conference in Nashville. However, he admitted, “We need some indications soon; we’re going to take it forward, based on signals from the Air Force.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.