Boeing and Canada Sign Deal for Four C-17s

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the Canadian government have signed an agreement for the purchase of four C-17 Globemaster IIIs for Canada's Department of National Defence to provide new strategic airlift mobility capabilities for the Canadian Forces. The contract, signed Thursday, is for the direct commercial sale of four airframes.

Boeing will deliver the aircraft from its Long Beach, Calif., factory where the advanced airlifters are assembled. The first delivery will occur as soon as fall 2007. The Canadian C-17s will be based at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario.

"Boeing is pleased that Canada joins its international partners -- the U.S. Air Force, the U.K. Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force -- in selecting C-17, the world's leading airlifter to modernize its defense forces airlift fleet," said Dave Bowman, vice president and C-17 program manager. "We look forward to delivering C-17s and a new world-class airlift capability to Canada, with industry-leading safety, quality and reliability that all C-17 customers enjoy."

As the only tactical airlifter with strategic range, the C-17 has become the world's airlifter of choice. Boeing is on contract to design, build, deliver and support 190 U.S. Air Force C-17s. The new Canadian C-17s are already factored into the C-17 production plan and will not extend the Long Beach production line beyond mid-2009, when the last C-17 is scheduled for delivery. In addition to the 160 C-17s now in service with the U.S. Air Force, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force operates four C-17s, and the Royal Australian Air Force in late 2006 took delivery of its first of four C-17s. With today's announcement, Canada will become the fourth nation to operate C-17s.