The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced that Georgia will benefit from an estimated 600 direct and indirect jobs if it is selected to build the U.S. Air Force’s new tanker aircraft fleet. The economic activity generated in Georgia will exceed an estimated $25 million annually.
„A KC-767 Tanker win will undoubtedly benefit Georgia’s aerospace industry and business community,“ said George M. Israel, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. „Georgia’s workforce is energized about the KC-767 program and the positive impact it will bring to our state.“
Boeing formally submitted its proposal to the Air Force on April 10. The offering, the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, is designed for aerial refueling of other aircraft, but also is able to move cargo, passengers, patients and medical crewmembers. These capabilities, combined with best-in-competition fuel efficiency, global flexibility and space usage, provide a strong value proposition to the Air Force.
„With Delta TechOps and other valuable Georgia suppliers on our team, we’re able to propose the most capable, flexible tanker ever created,“ said Dave Bowman, vice president and general manager of Boeing Global Mobility Systems. „The KC-767 Advanced Tanker also provides superior fuel efficiency and lower life cycle, support and training costs that will save the Air Force approximately $8.5 billion over the next 25 years.“
Delta TechOps, based in Atlanta, will provide commercial support services for the KC-767 Advanced Tanker Interim Contractor Support program, leveraging its experience in supporting commercial and commercial derivative platforms. In addition, Georgia industry will provide mechanical systems and machined aerospace parts for the new tanker if Boeing is selected for the contract.
Nationwide, 44,000 Americans and 300 suppliers will design, build and support the Boeing KC-767 Advanced Tanker.
Boeing will assemble the tanker at its facilities in Everett, Wash., using many of the same manufacturing processes that produced almost 1,000 highly reliable and maintainable commercial Boeing 767s. Installation of military refueling systems and flight test activities will take place at the company’s finishing center in Wichita, Kan.
The Boeing Global Tanker Team producing the KC-767 Advanced Tanker includes Delta TechOps, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, Pratt & Whitney, Smiths Aerospace, Honeywell and Spirit AeroSystems. This experienced group of partners has proven expertise in aerial refueling systems, network centric operations, integrated avionics solutions and lean manufacturing concepts, which will offer the Air Force high levels of reliability and unique technical advancements.
Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting tankers for nearly 75 years, with hundreds of KC-135s and KC-10s currently in service with the Air Force. The company is flying KC-767s today and has logged nearly 1,000 hours on the tanker platform. Recently, Boeing demonstrated its advanced air refueling systems by transferring fuel through its fifth-generation boom and extending and retracting the fuselage-mounted and wing-mounted air refueling hoses, both critical milestones for the KC-767 program.
