Aircraft
Boeing Sells C-17 to Australia, Stretches Production
Boeing sold a fifth C-17 airlifter to Australia and delivered the first of six aircraft to the UAE in recent weeks.
Boeing delivered the first of six C-17s to UAE in recent weeks, one of 21 delivered to international customers. (Photo: Boeing)
Boeing delivered the first of six C-17s to UAE in recent weeks, one of 21 delivered to international customers. (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing sold a fifth C-17 airlifter to Australia and delivered the first of six aircraft to the UAE in recent weeks. The Australian aircraft will be diverted from remaining U.S. Air Force production, to enable an August delivery this year.

Twenty-one C-17s have now been delivered to international customers, but Boeing needs more export business to sustain an economic production rate at Long Beach, Calif., in the absence of further U.S. Air Force orders. The company has set a minimum economic rate of 10 per annum, down from 15 at the height of domestic demand.