United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence officials take off in their brand new C-17 Globemaster III airlifter from Boeing’s C-17 final assembly facility in Long Beach on Tuesday, May 10, following a ceremony celebrating Boeings’s delivery of the aircraft — the first of six ordered by the Middle Eastern federation — to the UAE Air Force and Air Defence.
1:25pm | Officials from the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence gathered in Long Beach Tuesday morning to receive the first of six C-17 Globemaster III airlifters from Boeing during a ceremony at the company’s final assembly facility.“It is with great pride that we accept delivery of our first C-17, which will help expand our ability to perform humanitarian and strategic-lift missions in the region and around the world,” said Maj. Gen. Staff Pilot Mohammed bin Suwaidan Saeed Al Qamzi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. “The C-17’s advanced capabilities, high reliability and mission-readiness rate met all of our requirements.”
The Middle Eastern federation purchased the half-dozen airlifters as part of its efforts to modernize its airfleet.
Boeing Military Aircraft officials said that the UAE is on schedule to receive three additional C-17s later this year, with the final two to be delivered in 2012.
The C-17 can transport large payloads across vast ranges without refueling; land on short, austere runways; and operate in extremely hot and cold climates. With a full payload of 170,000 pounds, a C-17 can fly 2,400 nautical miles and land in 3,000 feet or less, according to Boeing.
The UAE is a member of the worldwide C-17 “virtual fleet meaning its new C-17s will be supported by a multinational performance-based logistics program: Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership. The virtual fleet concept provides customers with comprehensive worldwide logistics support through use of shared resources across the entire C-17 fleet. That support comes in the form of spares, support equipment, tech orders, sustaining engineering and on-site field teams, according to Boeing.
The program, which Boeing officials labeled as “highly successful,” provides all C-17 customers, regardless of fleet size, cost-effective access to an extensive resources and assistance, which in turn results in high levels of mission readiness, according to Boeing.
Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft, congratulated the UAE officials on their new acquisition.
“We pledge that your commitment to the C-17 will be backed up by Boeing’s expertise, support and dedication — wherever your crews fly the finest airlifter the world has ever known,” Chadwick said.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was on hand for the ceremony and stated that he intends to ensure that C-17 production is sustained. As the Long Beach Post reported on April 28, the local production line currently faces demise in 2013 unless the United States Air Force and America’s international allies issue any additional C-17 orders.
“I am proud to say that the first C-17 airlifter delivered to the United Arab Emirates was built in the great state of California,” Newsom said. “C-17s can be seen in the skies over California and around the world delivering humanitarian aid to those in need, even to the most remote runways in the world. My hope and mission is to make sure that we keep this capability alive and keep this production line rolling.”
Worldwide, there are currently 231 C-17s in service. Twenty-one of those airlifters are owned by international customers, including the Qatar Emiri Air Force, UK Royal Air Force, Canadian Forces, Royal Australian Air Force and 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. The remaining 210 belong to the U.S. Air Force, according to Boeing.
C-17 production was last year slowed in an effort to extend the life of the production line. That 2010 slowdown eliminated the local production line’s entire second shift, yielding the loss of roughly 900 jobs at the Long beach C-17 assembly facility.