Posted by John Keller

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, 3 Feb. 2012. Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Defense, Space & Security segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build 10 C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the Indian Air Force in New Delhi, India, under terms of a $1.8 billion contract modification announced Thursday from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft sale is part of the Foreign Military Sales program.

The C-17 Globemaster III is a four-engine military transport able to carry troops and equipment to unimproved runways in forward military operating areas. The aircraft can carry as much as 164,900 pounds of cargo, land on runways as short as 3,000 feet, and can back up to operate on narrow taxiways and congested ramps.

The c-17's avionics suite has two full-time all-function head-up displays, four multi-function active-matrix liquid crystal displays, an integrated radio management system with communications system open architecture (COSA), and a quadruple-redundant electronic flight control with mechanical backup system.

The high-wing, T-tailed military-transport aircraft, can carry large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world day or night, Boeing officials say. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the 1990s. Its ability to fly long distances and land in remote airfields in rough, land-locked regions make it a suitable transporter for military, humanitarian, and peacekeeping missions.

The C-17, which is 174 feet long with a 170-foot wingspan, can take off from a 7,600-foot airfield and has a range of 2,400 nautical miles. It is large enough to carry wheeled U.S. Army vehicles, including the M-1 Abrams main battle tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The four-engine C-17 is powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW2040 engine.

Boeing will build the 10 new C-17s for India at its factory in Long Beach, Calif., and should be finished by mid-2014. For more information contact Boeing online at www.boeing.com, www.wpafb.af.mil/asc, or the Indian Air Force at http://indianairforce.nic.in.