Boeing may restart C-17 production amid rising demand, but high costs, lack of facilities, and uncertain ROI make resuming the line a significant logistical and financial challenge.
Boeing delivered its final C-17 Globemaster III nearly a decade ago after 279 four-engine strategic airlifters were produced. However, the aerospace firm continues to support the current fleet and may soon resume manufacturing the aircraft.
Speaking at this month’s Paris Air Show, Boeing Global Services VP Turbjörn Sjögren told reporters that while Boeing doesn’t have manufacturing capabilities for the C-17, it doesn’t have a planned replacement.
Yet, Shephard Media first reported that it has received interest from countries that failed to secure orders before the production lines closed.
In addition to the United States Air Force, which operates 223 of the aircraft from 12 different bases around the world, the Globemaster III is in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Indian Air Force, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, the United Arab Emirates Air Force, the Kuwait Air Force, and the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability. The latter aircraft are based in Pápa, Hungary, and 12 participating NATO members manage all three.
The aircraft, which made its maiden flight in September 1991, has a maximum payload of 100,000 pounds and a range of more than 4,500 nautical miles. It can also operate from unimproved runways as short as 3,500 feet and just 90 feet wide and carry an M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT). Competing aircraft, including the Airbus A400M, Embraer C-390 Millennium, and Kawasaki C-2, can not perform that task.
Japan and Europe Want the C-17 Globemaster III
This isn’t just a case of demand outpacing supply. Countries are expressing interest, but none are being made. Boeing didn’t disclose which countries might be interested in the Globemaster III, but Japan previously had expressed a desire to buy at least one C-17.
The War Zone (TWZ) had previously speculated that the US Air Force would consider transferring one to the Pacific ally, or that an allied operator might have an aircraft to spare. Yet, that isn’t the case at the moment. Part of the reason is that there are limited options in airlifter aircraft.
No replacement has materialized in the decade since the C-17’s production ended in 2015, and Boeing is now working with the US Air Force to ensure its fleet keeps flying.
“That product [the C-17 Globemaster III] has been extremely successful and there is currently no planned replacement for that aircraft, as a result of which we are currently undertaking with the United States Air Force and all of our international operators an extension program, as well as a modernization program for that aircraft,” Sjögren said in response to a question asked by European Security & Defense.
Current plans call for the C-17 to remain in service until 2070.
Can Boeing Make New C-17 Globemaster IIIs?
As TWZ also explained, Boeing may face challenges in resuming production, even if demand is high. The biggest issue is that the company’s manufacturing facilities in Long Beach, California, have been put up for sale, effectively ending its production of military aircraft in the Golden State.
Initially built by McDonnell Douglas before it was acquired by Boeing, the facility comprised “a nearly four-million-square-foot plot of land adjacent to Long Beach Airport.“
Building a new facility would be costly and time-consuming, even if the production lines could be saved and moved. A 2013 RAND Corporation study found that restarting C-17 production after a pause would have cost $8 billion to support the production of 150 new C-17s.
Given that the current interest would be for dozens (at most) rather than hundreds of aircraft, it may not be a worthwhile investment for the aerospace firm. It is already producing the F-15EX Eagle II in St. Louis. Moreover, it may utilize its other facilities in the Midwest, which are currently building the final block of F/A-18 Super Hornets for the US Navy, for the future F-47 sixth-generation fighter.
There may be renewed interest in the C-17, but the costs associated with building brand-new aircraft may not yield a sufficient return on investment (ROI) for Boeing.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/billlinphotos.
