Total UK C-17 IP Benefits To Date Exceed $1 Billion

Industrial participation (IP) programs for the first five C-17 Globemaster III aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) have been completed by Boeing. To date, the planemaker says it has delivered benefits of more than $1 billion to United Kingdom industry for this aircraft program.

Photo Courtesy Boeing

"Boeing has been a partner to the United Kingdom for more than 70 years, serving the needs of its commercial airplane customers and Britain's military," said Mike Kurth, managing director, Boeing Defence United Kingdom. "Boeing is a major contributor to the local economy. The company has spent more than $17 billion over the past eight years, working with more than 300 partners and suppliers that bring thousands of high-value, long-term jobs to the UK."

This work, along with Boeing's continued partnership with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, helped fulfill C-17 UK IP obligations. As part of this program, Boeing also provides marketing assistance to help a number of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises identify new market opportunities across The Boeing Company, as well as with its extended network of suppliers.

The company says it is bringing another $1.1 billion in opportunities to UK industry through IP programs associated with the RAF's sixth and seventh C-17 aircraft, the AH-64 Apache Integrated Operational Support program, the CH-47 Chinook Through Life Customer Support program, and the Project Julius Chinook Mk4 upgrade program.

The RAF earlier this month received its seventh C-17 aircraft as part of the UK's strategic air bridge to British Armed Forces in Afghanistan, a landlocked theater of operation surrounded by inhospitable terrain. The UK C-17 fleet complements its strategic air transport role by supporting humanitarian efforts such as tsunami relief in Southeast Asia and earthquake rescue in Pakistan.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.mod.uk