PHOENIX, Arizona – BAE Systems has been awarded a contract for $4.6 million from Boeing Co. for troop seats on 15 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The seats are scheduled to be delivered through June 2010.  The contract also includes an option of $4.6 million for an additional 15 shipsets that would extend seat deliveries until the middle of 2011.

“The C-17 program has been an important part of our production efforts at our Phoenix facility as well as at the many suppliers that have dedicated significant time and effort to this program,” said Don Dutton, vice president for Occupant Protection Systems at BAE Systems. 

BAE Systems’ facility in Phoenix, Arizona has built the Sidewall and Centerline Troop seats for the C-17 Globemaster III since the first aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1993.  The C-17 can seat 102 troops in the cabin, 54 seats are along the aircraft’s sidewall and 48 seats are along the aircraft’s centerline.  All seats are designed to be used by troops with or without parachutes and to fold up for storage when not in use.

BAE Systems employs approximately 700 people and has approximately 252,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space at its Arizona facilities. Occupant Protection Systems employs approximately 500 people, and has two facilities in the United States and one in Germany. The Occupant Protection Systems business unit is a world leader in both commercial and military markets. Products such as crashworthy aircraft seating, mine-blast protective vehicle seating, lightweight armor, restraint systems, and advanced inflatable systems provide advanced protection to the occupants of both surface vehicles and aircraft.

Source: BAE