The Boeing Company will create an estimated 480 total jobs and generate an estimated $22 million in annual economic impact if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force's next aerial refueling aircraft. Boeing submitted its proposal to replace 179 of the Air Force's 400 Eisenhower-era KC-135 aircraft. The Air Force is expected to award a contract in the fall. These Utah manufacturers include Parker Hannifin in Ogden and Boeing in Salt Lake City.
"Boeing is honored to contribute to U.S. national security while creating good-paying aerospace jobs in Utah through the tanker program," said Mark DeVoss, Supplier Management director, Boeing Tanker Programs. "The NewGen Tanker program will make the United States stronger militarily and economically."
Currently, Boeing has 750 employees in Utah and works with nearly 253 suppliers/vendors, delivering a total $283 million in annual economic impact.
According to the press release, the NewGen Tanker is a wide body, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with the latest and most advanced technology. Capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients, the combat-ready NewGen Tanker will meet or exceed the 372 mandatory requirements.
The NewGen Tanker will be made with a low-risk approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities in Washington State and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout the nation. Nationwide, the NewGen Tanker program will support approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states.
The Boeing NewGen Tanker also will be more cost-effective to own and operate than a larger, heavier tanker. It will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel than the competitor's airplane.
Photo courtesy of Real American Tankers
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