Boeing May Win 10-Plane Order; Then Again, Maybe Not
It's the most advanced, and arguably most capable, cargo-hauler
in the current US Air Force fleet... but the C-17 program has never
been able to rest on its laurels, and it appears the Boeing-built
workhorse is once again in jeopardy.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the plane's future is up in
the air -- again -- waiting to find out how many more C-17s
Washington will authorize. And the message is decidedly mixed on
that.
Officially, the Pentagon has already said it won't authorize
more than the 190 C-17s already on order... and has set aside
funding in the FY2008 budget to shut down production in 2009. US
Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne counters he would like as many as
30 more planes, and that shutting production down is a bad idea, in
case the Air Force later needs more planes to replace aging C-5
Galaxys.
Several lawmakers are showing their support for the C-17... not
surprisingly, those whose districts include companies and plants
supplying parts for the plane. Ten Congressmen, including Missouri
representatives Todd Akin and Russ Carnahan, earmarked $2.4 billion
in the current budget for 10 more planes.
Other lawmakers are skeptical... and once again not
surprisingly, they represent districts where C-5s are based.
Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Joe Biden (D-DE) argue money would
be better spent upgrading the aging C-5s, than purchasing new
C-17s.
Critics of the C-5 Modernization Program now underway respond
the cost has far eclipsed original forecasts of between $5 billion
to $8 billion. USAF officials say the true cost is approaching
$17.5 billion, or $146.7 million per plane... though that's still
much less than the $240 million pricetag for a new C-17.
On Tuesday, Boeing said it would continue funding the C-17
program on spec, at least through the end of this year. That's when
President Bush is expected to sign the 2008 defense budget. The
American planemaker has already spent hundreds of millions of
dollars keeping the line going, with the hope a big order would
soon materialize.
For now, the 10-plane deal may be the best Boeing could hope for
-- and even that is in jeopardy, as the Senate failed to pass the
earmark.
Part of the problem also lies in the fact no one is quite sure
how many heavy cargo planes the Air Force needs. A group of
lawmakers has called for an independent review to hopefully answer
that question.
"With the increased use of the C-17 in the Iraq conflict and the
investments being made in weapons systems, I believe we will find
that we need more, not less, airlift capability in the future,"
said Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. "That includes the
continued production of the C-17."
Trouble is, that study wouldn't be completed until 2009... by
which time the C-17 program may already be shut down.
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