Boeing and the USAF Forge New Path with Multi-Billion Dollar C-17 Sustainment Agreement
Boeing will persist in ensuring the C-17 Globemaster III’s global mission preparedness through a follow-on agreement conferred by the U.S. Department of Defense, with a value of up to $23.8 billion that includes potential options and incentives over a decade. The initiative is currently financed until September 2024 with a Phase I grant of $3.5 billion.
As part of the arrangement, Boeing will continue executing essential sustainment operations, including engineering, field assistance, and material management, for the international fleet of 275 aircraft. The contract offers supplementary funding for new work areas such as overseas staffing to enhance maintenance efforts, as well as cyber security initiatives.
“The C-17 remains the strategic transport backbone for the nation, as demonstrated by its remarkable performance in the recent airlift of over 124,000 evacuees from Afghanistan during a continuous operation,” stated Brig. Gen. Darren Cole, Air Mobility Command (AMC) director of Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection. “As the command accountable for managing the U.S. Air Force C-17 fleet, AMC is eager to sustain its collaboration with our Boeing partners to ensure the Globemaster fleet remains operationally efficient for years ahead.”
This performance-based logistics (PBL) contract capitalizes on more than twenty years of successful C-17 sustainment, where Boeing has cooperated intimately with the U.S. Air Force and international allies to sustain elevated mission-capability rates while continuously enhancing cost-effectiveness. Although sustainment expenses commonly increase as a fleet ages, Boeing aims to reduce operating costs per flight hour for the global fleet under the newly established agreement.
“We are reshaping the cost trajectory on platforms like the C-17 by leveraging the comprehensive array of Boeing’s service capabilities and expertise across the globe, coupled with the deployment of digital tools and analytics to instill predictability and performance into every C-17 mission,” remarked Dan Gillian, vice president & general manager of U.S. Government Services for Boeing Global Services.
“By collaborating closely with our military clients, we are obtaining data insights from these aircraft that enhance readiness and elevate fleet efficiency,” Gillian emphasized. “Analytical insights yield actionable intelligence to anticipate component failures, diagnose issues with increased speed and precision, expedite repairs, and bolster aircrew decision-making.”
Boeing has been engaged in providing PBL support for the C-17 fleet since 1998. This new $3.5 billion Phase I award is anticipated to be enacted by the Air Force until 2024. In a PBL framework, a customer receives an agreed-upon level of system readiness rather than a conventional contract for specific spare parts and support services. This integrated logistics strategy has empowered Boeing to utilize pioneering tools to optimize aircraft availability while reducing expenses.
The global C-17 fleet showcases exceptional aircraft availability rates while functioning as the strategic airlift backbone for the U.S. Air Force and its international partners. In January 2020, the C-17 fleet became one of the fastest to reach four million flight hours. Nations such as 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.
