May 25, 2010
ST. LOUIS, - The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that Texas will benefit from approximately 2,500 jobs with 17 suppliers and an estimated $125 million in annual economic impact if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force's next aerial refueling aircraft.
"The Texas aerospace and defense industrial base is committed to providing critical components and technologies for the Boeing NewGen Tanker that will equip our brave servicemen and women with the best tanker in the world," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Texas manufacturers ready to produce critical components on the NewGen Tanker include:
- Parker Aerospace, Fort Worth and Mansfield -- fluid conveyance systems including hoses, tubes and fittings
- Vought Aircraft Industries, Grand Prairie -- aft body section, pressure bulkhead and horizontal stabilizer.
Boeing currently has more than 5,000 employees in Texas supporting a variety of programs and works with 1,300 suppliers/vendors across the state, resulting in an estimated $1.9 billion in annual economic impact.
The NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with the latest and most advanced technology. Capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients, the combat-ready NewGen Tanker 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 Feb. 24. The Air Force is expected to award a contract later this year.
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.
The Boeing NewGen Tanker also will be more cost-effective to own and operate than a larger, heavier tanker. It will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel than the competitor's airplane.
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.
More information on Boeing's NewGen Tanker, including video clips and an interactive tour of the aircraft, is available at www.UnitedStatesTanker.com. For more information on joining the company's efforts, visit www.RealAmericanTankers.com.
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Boeing (NYSE:BA), KC-10 Tanker, KC-767 Tanker
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