Boeing

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that Arizona will benefit from an estimated 1,100 direct and indirect jobs if it is selected to build the U.S. Air Force's new tanker aircraft fleet. The economic activity generated in Arizona will exceed an estimated $40 million annually.

"Our nation must begin to replace its Eisenhower-era air refueling aircraft fleet immediately," said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "The men and women in Arizona are ready to step forward and help build the KC-767 if it is selected by the U.S. Air Force as their next-generation tanker."

Boeing formally submitted its proposal to the Air Force on April 10. The offering, the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, is designed for aerial refueling of other aircraft, but also is able to move cargo, passengers, patients and medical crewmembers. These capabilities, combined with best-in-competition fuel efficiency, global flexibility and space usage, provide a strong value proposition to the Air Force.

"The Grand Canyon State has always answered our nation's call by providing the most advanced technology to the military," said Mark McGraw, vice president, Boeing Tanker Programs. "The talented Arizona aerospace workforce will be a critical part of building the KC-767 Advanced Tanker if we win this important contract."

Honeywell facilities in Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson, Ariz., will provide avionics and other aerospace components for the KC-767 Advanced Tanker. In addition to Honeywell, Arizona industry will provide electrical and hydro-mechanical systems for the new tanker.

Nationwide, the Boeing KC-767 Advanced Tanker program will support 44,000 American jobs and 300 suppliers.

Boeing will assemble the tanker at its facilities in Everett, Wash., using many of the same manufacturing processes that produced almost 1,000 highly reliable and maintainable commercial Boeing 767s. Installation of military refueling systems and flight test activities will take place at the company's finishing center in Wichita, Kan.

The Boeing Global Tanker Team producing the KC-767 Advanced Tanker includes Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, Pratt & Whitney, Smiths Aerospace, Spirit AeroSystems and Delta TechOps. This experienced group of partners has proven expertise in aerial refueling systems, network centric operations, integrated avionics solutions and lean manufacturing concepts, which will offer the Air Force high levels of reliability and unique technical advancements.

Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting tankers for nearly 75 years, with hundreds of KC-135s and KC-10s currently in service with the Air Force. The company is flying KC-767s today and has logged nearly 1,000 hours on the tanker platform. This year Boeing has demonstrated its advanced air refueling systems by transferring fuel through its fifth-generation boom and extending and retracting the fuselage-mounted and wing-mounted air refueling hoses, both critical milestones for the KC-767 program.