News Review: KC-135 subcontracts for Australian SMEs | ADM Apr 2011

Boeing has awarded subcontracts to two Melbourne-based SMEs, Aerostaff and Production Parts, to support the venerable KC-135 tanker aircraft. The two firms will provide sheet metal and machined components, respectively.

The contracts were facilitated by Boeing’s Office of Australian Industry Capability (OAIC), established in cooperation with the DMO to support and develop Australian industry capability and links to the global aviation and aerospace supply chain.

“I visited Production Parts and saw first hand the great work they’re doing,”  minister for defence materiel Jason Clare said during the Avalon air show. “Boeing is doing a terrific job working with local Australian companies to help them break into overseas markets and these KC-135 subcontracts are a great example of that.”

The USAF has operated the KC-135 Stratotanker since 1957. Boeing Maintenance, Modifications & Upgrades in San Antonio, Texas, has been performing depot-level inspections, repair, maintenance and modification on the aircraft since 1997.

“Through the OAIC, Boeing is partnering with Australian industry to demonstrate the benefits of working with a global aerospace leader: providing local access to opportunities across the entire spectrum of Boeing commercial and military production and support programs and to our extended network of suppliers,” Ian Thomas, president of Boeing Australia and South Pacific, said.

The OAIC offers an alternative to traditional industrial offsets to increase global business opportunities for Australian companies. Since 2007 the Boeing OAIC has helped Australian firms win contracts worth more than US$190 million in support of commercial aircraft programs such as 747, 767, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner, as well as the Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft, CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft.