Boeing will be moving its C-130 avionics modernization program and B-1 program offices from Long Beach, Calif., to Oklahoma City, Okla., the company announced Monday. These moves are meant to keep costs affordable, said company officials. The C-130 program will begin transferring in the first quarter of 2011. The B-1 presence will shift to Oklahoma City by the end of 2012. Roughly 550 positions will move to Oklahoma and about 250 jobs will be cut in the process, according to the company. The C-130 AMP entered its low-rate initial production phase in June, and Boeing continues to carry out numerous upgrades to the Air Force’s B-1 fleet.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.