Components Manufactured In Florida Would Range From Structural
To Electronic
The state of Florida would benefit from an estimated 1,900 total
jobs with 14 suppliers and generate an estimated $95 million annual
economic impact if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S.
Air Force's next tanker aircraft, the company said in the state
capital of Tallahassee Tuesday.
File Photo
The NewGen Tanker, based on the commercial Boeing 767, is being
offered as a replacement for 179 KC-135 aircraft. Boeing is writing
a proposal to meet or exceed the 372 mandatory requirements
described in the service's final KC-X Request for Proposal released
on February 24. The Air Force is expected to award a contract later
this year.
"During these challenging economic times, the citizens of
Florida value any opportunity to work in high-tech jobs," said Mark
Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. "Our state is
proud to be part of Boeing's NewGen Tanker team and looks forward
to the NewGen's selection as the next air refueling aircraft for
America."
Florida manufacturers ready to produce critical components on
the NewGen Tanker include:
- Vought Aircraft, Stuart -- doors, wing center sections, aft
wheel well bulkheads, crown and side fittings.
- Goodrich Lighting Systems, Oldsmar -- interior lighting
products.
- Pall Aeropower, New Port Richey -- filtration products.
- Parker Fluid Systems, Naples -- propulsion, hydraulic and fuel
components.
- Radiant Power Corp., Sarasota -- electrical components and
batteries.
"With unemployment rates across the state topping 12 percent,
awarding the U.S. Air Force Tanker contract to Boeing will ensure
that hundreds of hardworking, skilled Floridians have well-paying,
meaningful jobs," said Frank Ortis, mayor of Pembroke Pines, FL,
and president of the Florida State Council of Machinists and the
Broward County AFL-CIO.
Boeing says the NewGen Tanker will be made with a low-risk
approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities
in Washington state and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout
the nation, with decades of experience delivering dependable
military tanker and derivative aircraft. Nationwide, the NewGen
Tanker program will support approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs
with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states.
Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting
tankers for decades. These include the KC-135 that will be replaced
in the KC-X competition, and the KC-10 fleet. The company also has
delivered four KC-767Js to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and is
on contract to deliver four KC-767s to the Italian Air Force. Three
of the four Italian tankers are in flight test, with the fourth
airplane in production.
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