Boeing KC-767 Tanker Win Would Benefit Florida Economy

    ST. LOUIS, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing Company (NYSE:  
 BA) today announced that Florida 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 Florida will
 exceed an estimated $45 million annually.
     "The Florida Chamber is excited at the prospect of so many high-tech,
 high-wage jobs being brought to Florida. Florida's economy and communities
 will benefit greatly if Boeing's KC-767 Advanced Tanker is selected as the
 next-generation tanker," said Frank M. Ryll, president of the Florida
 Chamber of Commerce.
     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.
     "We have to deliver the most capable, efficient tanker to win the U.S.
 Air Force's KC-X competition, and adding Florida's highly skilled workforce
 to our KC-767 Advanced Tanker team will help us achieve that goal," said
 Ron Marcotte, vice president and general manager of Boeing Global Mobility
 Systems.
     Florida industry will produce a significant share of the KC-767
 Advanced Tanker. Smiths Aerospace in Clearwater will provide multi-function
 control display units for the Mission Control System. Vought Aircraft in
 Stuart will provide major structural assemblies. In addition to Smiths and
 Vought, Florida industry also will provide crew seats, wire bundles,
 interiors, and electrical, hydraulic and mechanical components for the
 aircraft systems.
     Nationwide, 44,000 Americans and 300 suppliers will design, build and
 support the Boeing KC-767 Advanced Tanker.
     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 Vought Aircraft Industries, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins,
 Smiths Aerospace, Honeywell, 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. Recently, Boeing
 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.
     A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one
 of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in
 innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St.
 Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.4 billion business with
 72,000 employees worldwide.
 
 

SOURCE Boeing Integrated Defense Systems