Extended maintenance contract for Boeing

The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a 10-year, $1.1bn contract to continue providing programmed depot maintenance (PDM) for the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet.

Boeing will carry out the work on more than 200 KC-135 aircraft at its Support Systems site in San Antonio, Texas and at the Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Flight-control repairs will be performed by Sabreliner in Missouri and completed by North American Aviation Services in San Antonio.

Scheduled PDM services are conducted every five years, and include depot-level inspections, repairs, maintenance, modifications, repainting and supply chain services.

Pat Finneran, president of Boeing Support Systems, said: ‘The Boeing KC-135 PDM programme has a solid track record with proven results. Using lean manufacturing and employee involvement initiatives, we have reduced the number of days the aircraft are out of service for maintenance by 19 per cent, cutting costs by 15 per cent per aircraft.’