The Air Force has upped the number of C-17 airlifters that it has on order with Boeing to 205 with the award of a $2.95 billion contract for 15 more on Feb. 6. (DOD announcement) Boeing’s C-17 spokesman Jerry Drelling told the Daily Report yesterday that the new order will keep C-17s coming off the company’s production line in Long Beach, Calif., until at least August 2010. To date, Boeing has delivered 183 C-17s to the Air Force and a total of 14 to Australia, Britain, and Canada, Drelling said. While senior Air Force officials have stated that they do not intend to seek additional C-17s beyond 205, support for the aircraft remains strong in Congress. And, the Obama Administration’s defense agenda characterizes the aircraft as one of USAF’s “essential systems” that provide the backbone of global power projection and hints, perhaps, at a desire for more. Boeing is also building C-17s for NATO and Qatar and continues to aggressively market the airlifter overseas and is seeing international interest, Drelling said.
Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs from Anduril and General Atomics passed their critical design reviews early in November, clearing the way for detailed production efforts to get underway, the Air Force said. How future versions will be upgraded is still under discussion.