Boeing is on course to achieve a difficult production target for its fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner jets, Reuters has reported, citing Jeffrey Luckey, vice president in charge supply management for the 787.
“We made mistakes along the way,” Luckey reportedly said at the Japan Aerospace International Exhibition in Nagoya. So far, Boeing has won 824 orders for the plane and has delivered around 60.
Boeing now reportedly makes three and a half of the new carbon-composite jets a month. It plans to raise output to five a month by the end of the year and then to 10 a month by the end of 2013. The company now has 325 suppliers building parts for the 787 in 5,000 factories worldwide, Luckey added. Also for the first time, Boeing has asked Japanese companies to build wings for their jets. Final assembly of the Dreamliner is done in the United States at Boeing plants in South Carolina and Washington.
In related news, Boeing received a $2 billion contract for C-17 aircraft sustainment and it was contracted by SES to manufacture its new SES-9 satellite for Asia.
The C-17 Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) provides support services such as forecasting, purchasing and material management for the C-17. The latest contract covers fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
The SES-9 will expand SES’ capabilities to provide direct-to-home broadcasting and other communications services in Northeast Asia, South Asia and Indonesia, as well as maritime communications for vessels in the Indian Ocean. It will provide incremental as well as replacement capacity to SES’ slot over Asia, where it will be co-located with the existing SES-7 and NSS-11 satellites. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years in geosynchronous orbit.