Published 2 December 2020

New maintenance contract will create jobs and help improve the overall availability of C-17 aircraft for the RAF

DE&S has signed a £2.6M maintenance contract for the Royal Air Force’s C-17 aircraft, which will create 25 industry jobs at RAF Brize Norton.

Increasing maintenance support will help improve the overall availability of C-17 aircraft for the RAF, while allowing 99 Squadron to perform other important tasks.

DE&S delivered the one-year contract with Boeing through the C-17 Globemaster Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case with the US Government. This was a Strategic Milestone that the C-17 Delivery Team delivered three months early.

DE&S delivered the one-year contract with Boeing through the C-17 Globemaster Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case with the US Government. This was a Strategic Milestone that the C-17 Delivery Team delivered three months early.

Boeing is recruiting high calibre candidates, who are receiving C-17 maintenance training after the contract commenced on 30 Oct 2020. As C-17 maintenance is an enduring requirement, it is expected that the 25 jobs will be subsumed into the overarching support contract from 2021 onwards.

Boeing already provides in-country support to the RAF’s eight C-17 aircraft, which includes assisting the squadron, preventative maintenance and local periodic maintenance carried out in the UK. This is in addition to more extensive maintenance which is done around once every five years at Boeing in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Darren Astall, DE&S C-17 Delivery Team Leader, said: “This new contract creates 25 skilled jobs and ensures the UK’s C-17 aircraft will continue to be maintained by highly experienced technicians. This is great news for the prosperity of RAF Brize Norton and the surrounding Oxfordshire area. It is also a great example of how we work closely with industry to deliver specialised support to our customer, the RAF, while creating valuable job opportunities.”

“A C-17 Availability Report recently concluded that additional contractor support was required, so I am delighted we are now meeting the enduring needs of our customer with this arrangement.”