Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
The US Air Force hopes to issue formal proposals in mid-year for the formation of a fleet of up to 10 commercially operated Boeing BC-17X freighters to boost the Department of Defense's airlift capability during crises.
The BC-17X plan, a proposed civil C-17, depends on interest from the air cargo industry which attended a two-day conference at Boeing in February. The plan is also subject to the approval of a multi-year procurement (MYP) of up to 60 C-17s beyond the 120 on order and funding for the civil version. A USAF request for a C-17 MYP is expected this month.
"Over the next 60 days we will begin discussions with conference delegates, and decide what makes business sense to them. Then we will see if the USAF can work with this plan," says Col Greg Lockhart, USAF Global Reach deputy director. Any contract would see a company providing on-call services with the USAF paying a fee to secure the capability.
Conference attendees included Asia Pacific Airlines, Evergreen International, FedEx, Gemini Cargo, GE Capital Aviation Services and the UK's HeavyLift.
Boeing and the USAF plan to publish a strategy in March with agreements between the government, Boeing and a commercial entity by the end of June.
The USAF has awarded Boeing a producibility enhancement/performance improvement (PE/PI) contract of potentially $1.05 billion over seven years to develop further the C-17. A similar award in July 1995 led to a $584 million production cost saving over a 60 aircraft procurement. Upgrades include infrared countermeasures, air traffic management avionics, GPS satellite navigation system, windshear prediction and avoidance, and improved station-keeping equipment.
Source: Flight International