LONDON, Feb. 11, 2011 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has successfully completed — ahead of schedule — its industrial participation (IP) programs for the first five C-17 Globemaster III aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). To date, Boeing has delivered benefits of more than $1 billion to United Kingdom industry for this aircraft program.

“Boeing has been a partner to the United Kingdom for more than 70 years, serving the needs of its commercial airplane customers and Britain’s military,” said Mike Kurth, managing director, Boeing Defence United Kingdom. “Boeing is a major contributor to the local economy. The company has spent more than $17 billion over the past eight years, working with more than 300 partners and suppliers that bring thousands of high-value, long-term jobs to the UK.”

UK companies that contribute to Boeing’s C-17 program are:

• BAE Systems: head-up display
• CAV Aerospace Llantrisant: avionics racks
• Eaton Aerospace: pressure regulating system and pump canister for onboard inert gas generating system
• GE Aviation Systems Cheltenham: differential pressure indicator and standby altimeter airspeed indicator
• GE Aviation Systems Hamble: wing trailing edge panels and flap hinge fairings
• GKN Aerospace: flap vane assemblies
• Goodrich Actuation Systems: pitch trim control valve
• IPECO: crew seats.

This work, along with Boeing’s continued partnership with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, helped fulfill C-17 UK IP obligations. As part of this program, Boeing also provides marketing assistance to help a number of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises identify new market opportunities across The Boeing Company, as well as with its extended network of suppliers.

Boeing is bringing another $1.1 billion in opportunities to UK industry through IP programs associated with the RAF’s sixth and seventh C-17 aircraft, the AH-64 Apache Integrated Operational Support program, the CH-47 Chinook Through Life Customer Support program, and the Project Julius Chinook Mk4 upgrade program.

Boeing has an unmatched reputation for delivering world-class industrial participation programs that have brought benefits of more than $41 billion to nearly 40 countries over the past 30 years.

The RAF earlier this month received its seventh C-17 aircraft as part of the UK’s strategic air bridge to British Armed Forces in Afghanistan, a landlocked theater of operation surrounded by inhospitable terrain. The UK C-17 fleet complements its strategic air transport role by supporting humanitarian efforts such as tsunami relief in Southeast Asia and earthquake rescue in Pakistan.

Boeing Defence UK Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company and a business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It currently has employees at 20 locations throughout the UK supporting Ministry of Defence and U.S. military programs.

Source and photo: Boeing