Boeing remains in talks with South Africa on potential C-17 deal

The Boeing Company remains in talks with South Africa regarding the potential sale of its C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft in the light of the government's cancellation of its A400M order in November 2009.

Paul Oliver, vice-president, Middle East and Africa, international business development, at Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), said: "We have had discussions, and South Africa is looking at its requirements."

The talks are "very much in the early phase", said Oliver. "We're telling them about the product."

The South African government decided on 4 November to withdraw from the A400M military transport aircraft programme due to delays and spiralling acquisition costs and in February, the US government proposed that the South African Air Force (SAAF) consider the C-17 and the Lockheed Martin C-130J super Hercules, as well as the Alenia C-27J Spartan aircraft.

In addition to a potential deal in South Africa, Boeing has indicated that it is maintaining a dialogue with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a view to offering additional C-17s should the UK opt to scale back its involvement in the A400M programme.