Discussions have also taken place with the UK, which will take delivery of its fifth of six currently contracted aircraft on 22 February, with the nation believed to be interested in acquiring two further examples to boost its in-service fleet.
I guess i find the possibility of this somewhat surprising considering the chopping the budget axe has been doing lately
another tantalizing tidbit
Two aircraft could also be acquired by an undisclosed nation, which Marshall says is close to finalising a contract and has already had delivery slots allocated to it.
and it’s not India because they are mentioned separately
Boeing has also identified India as a possible future buyer of the C-17, and last October gave its air force a full briefing on the type’s strategic lift capabilities. “The C-17 is tailor-made for India,” says Marshall.
I think India is going to stick with it’s IL-76 plans, but Boeing can dream
‘undisclosed nation’ possibilities:
Denmark – has shown more interest than most, but they signed up for the NATO pool so i doubt it
Israel – close US ties but exactly the wrong situation for the C-17 as they have no expeditionary capabilities or ambitions
New Zealand – the only anglosphere country that hasn’t bought it, but hahaha
Saudi Arabia – seem to be gravitating more towards Russia now
Pakistan – i just couldn’t believe that
Brazil – would go for Embraer products
Singapore – they have the US ties and the money, but like israel, i don’t see the need
Philippines – doesn’t have the money
Japan – too ‘provocative’ as a ‘strategic’ asset
if Boeing manages to pull off a sale to one of these countries, well I’ll really have to give a tip of the hat to their sales team
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February 21, 2008 at 11:24 pm