US congressman applauds India's purchase of additional C-17s

WASHINGTON: An influential Congressman on Thursday applauded India's decision to buy six more Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, saying the country faces the "same security challenge from radical Islam and China" like the US.

"To say this is an opening for new opportunities for cooperation between the US and India is an understatement," Dana Rohrabacher, who was recently in India on a visit, said.

"India faces the same security challenges from radical Islam and China as we do. They need the C-17 and so does the United States," he said.

This new order for six C-17s on top of the 10 already ordered will go a long way to keep jobs here and the Boeing line open, which is good news for southern California at a time when Boeing is sending jobs elsewhere, the Congressman, who met Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Advisor on August 2, said.

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft.

Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases.

Boeing recently announced that it would relocate two programmes and hundreds of jobs in the Maintenance, Modifications & Upgrades division from Long Beach, CA to Oklahoma City, OK.

The C-17's primary assembly facility is currently located in Long Beach and the production of additional C-17s has been targeted for elimination in President Obama's FY11 budget, he said.