Approves $798 Million For Three More C-17s

Boeing bet on the House for its C-17 transport... and it seems to have been a smart bet.

On Tuesday, a US House of Representatives panel officially approved $798 million for Boeing to fund further production of the Globemaster III... an action that may save the Long Beach, CA factory where the planes are assembled.

The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that the House Appropriations Committee voted to provide the money to fund production of a total of 183 C-17s... over the objections of the defense department, which has tried to shelve the program for nearly a year.

The panel voted "in recognition of the C-17 Globemaster's performance in the global war on terrorism and to preserve" the production line, said Congressman Bill Young (R-FL), who heads the panel.

The amount of funding approved is over $100 million more than Congress had hinted at last month.

If the measure, which is part of the annual defense spending bill, is approved in a full House vote set for next week -- it would come OVER the objections of the Pentagon, which originally planned to end production of the $200 million transport plane in 2008, to free up money for other projects.

The Senate has not yet acted on its version of the measure.

To date, nearly 150 C-17s have been delivered.

FMI: www.house.gov, www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/c17/index.htm