Aircraft

By Craig Hoyle in Long Beach

Ottawa close to concluding four-aircraft deal in time to meet price-guarantee deadline

Boeing expects a production contract from Canada within the next few weeks to supply an anticipated four C-17 strategic transports to help meet Ottawa’s requirement to support expeditionary operations, says the US manufacturer.

The order commitment should come in time to guarantee Canada a unit price of $220 million – an opportunity expected to expire for other potential buyers in late June, says C-17 programme manager Dave Bowman. The Canadian government’s treasury board was expected to last week approve the C-17 deal as part of a combined airlift acquisition also to include 17 Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports, say industry sources.

If confirmed, the deal will enable Ottawa to acquire its C-17s at Boeing’s current unit price, but the company says it is doubtful that similar assurances can be provided to other prospective customers for the aircraft, including NATO, the Netherlands and Sweden. However, it has already ordered long-lead items for 22 aircraft beyond a core US Air Force purchase for 180 C-17s and four export examples for Australia, with this number including components for five aircraft for the UK and a potential attrition buy of seven more for the USAF. Canada’s four aircraft and a Swedish requirement for two could be met from the remainder, says Boeing.

Stockholm cannot approve a C-17 purchase until after national elections in mid-September, but Bowman says: “We hope we can keep the price attractive long enough for Sweden.” Canada and Sweden are both understood to be seeking national defence industry involvement in supporting their aircraft, likely within the framework of Boeing’s current global support programme for the airlifter.

Boeing is seeking additional international orders for the C-17 to maintain its production rate of 15 aircraft per year after its existing USAF order concludes in 2008. The company hopes an ongoing study of air force mobility requirements could push domestic production of the type beyond 300 airframes, including a proposed C-17B enhancement featuring improved short-field performance.