LONG BEACH. Boeing has fulfilled its 20-year contract with the US Air Force to deliver 223 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters. The strategic airlifter is able to fly between continents and deliver airdrop supplies, and has been used to transport troops in wartime and supplies in humanitarian efforts, such as Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom and Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti, respectively.
ST. LOUIS. Recent tests of Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs), Enclosed Weapons Pod (EWP) retrofits, and other enhancements on an F/A-18 Advanced Super Hornet demonstrated a 50 percent reduction in radar signature and a 130-mile range increase over current Super Hornet variants. Testing occurred over three weeks at Patuxent River, MD, and St. Louis, MO, and was jointly funded by Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
ST. LOUIS. A demonstration by the U.S. Navy displayed the new data network and sensor system upgrades on the Boeing EA-18G Growler aircraft. The demonstration occurred during the July 15 – 19 Navy Fleet Experimentation (FLEX) campaign at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, and showed how the new capabilities will improve the ability of aircrews to locate threats.
EL SEGUNDO, CA. – The electric-powered 702 Small Platform (702SP) from Boeing passed its critical design review, enabling the new program to place two satellites into assembly, integration, and testing. The 3- to 8-kilowatt satellite started on its 702 product line last spring as a more simple design that could be built more quickly while costing and weighing less than traditional satellites. Its all-electric propulsion reduces the spacecraft’s mass and maximizes its available payload.
ST. LOUIS, MO. The U.S. Navy has awarded a $5.5 million follow-on contract to Boeing to maintain the Reconfigurable Transportable Consolidated Automated Support System (RTCASS). RTCASS is an automated test platform that will be used to help extend the availability of the F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier, EA-6B Prowler, and V-22 Osprey.
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, PA. U.S. Army officials ordered 177 CH-47F Chinook helicopters from Boeing under a $4 billion contract. The Army also is holding options that could raise its total purchase to 215 aircraft. Deliveries are schedule dot start in 2015.