Pentagon Seeks to Buy 60 Additional C-17s

Senior Pentagon officials have approved a plan to acquire 60 more Boeing C-17 military cargo jets for the Air Force, bolstering efforts to extend the life of the Long Beach program that employs 8,000 workers and is scheduled to end in three years.

If approved by Congress, the Pentagon would be able to enter a multiyear contract that would start in 2003 and extend production to 2007. Boeing Co. currently has a contract to build 120 C-17s. It has delivered 79 of the four-engine planes so far.

Earlier in the year, a Pentagon report on military mobility said the Air Force would need 60 C-17s beyond the 120 now planned if the country expects to meet the airlift demands of fighting two major regional wars simultaneously, a basis of U.S. military policy that is now under review.