LONG BEACH, Calif., - Boeing will continue assuring the C-17 Globemaster III's worldwide mission readiness through a follow-on contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense, valued at up to $23.8 billion including potential options and incentives over ten years. The program is currently funded through September 2024 with a Phase I award of $3.5 billion.
Under the agreement, Boeing will continue performing critical sustainment activities, including engineering, field support, and material management, for the global fleet of 275 aircraft. The contract provides additional funding for new work scope such as international staffing to augment maintenance efforts and cyber security work statement.
This performance-based logistics (PBL) contract builds on more than two decades of successful C-17 sustainment, where Boeing has worked closely with the U.S. Air Force and global partners to maintain high mission-capability rates and continuously improve affordability. While sustainment costs typically rise as a fleet ages, Boeing will lower operating cost per-flight-hour for the global fleet under the new agreement.
Boeing has been under contract for PBL support of the C-17 fleet since 1998. This new $3.5 billion Phase I award is expected to be ordered by the Air Force through 2024. Under a PBL arrangement, a customer receives an agreed-to level of system readiness, as opposed to a traditional contract for specific spare parts and support services. This integrated logistics approach has allowed Boeing to apply innovative tools to maximize aircraft availability while lowering costs.
The global C-17 fleet boasts best-in-class aircraft availability rates while operating as the strategic airlift workhorse for the U.S. Air Force and global partners. In January 2020, the C-17 fleet became one of the fastest to achieve four million flight hours. The United States, Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability all operate the C-17 Globemaster III.
