ST. LOUIS, Oct. 31, 2011 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that four of the company's defense programs were honored as winners of Program Excellence awards by Aviation Week & Space Technology.

The C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership program was selected as the winner in the Sustainment category and the P-8A Poseidon was selected as the winner in the Research & Development/ System Development and Demonstration (R&D/SDD) category for System level awards. At the Sub-System level, the Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition and MH-47G Digital Automatic Flight Control System programs were selected in the R&D/SDD and Production categories, respectively.

The Program Excellence Awards program was created by Aviation Week in 2004 to identify and promote lessons learned and best practices across all aerospace and defense programs for the improvement of performance across the industry. The annual awards recognize innovation and leadership in managing the aerospace and defense industry's top programs. The programs are judged by a panel of aerospace and defense industry members based on value creation, organizational processes, how well they address complexity, and the effective use of metrics.

"The four Boeing programs honored with these awards reflect the focus our teams put on bringing value to their customers across the program lifecycle," said Nan Bouchard, vice president of Program Management for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "By adopting and sharing program management best practices, these teams bring the best of Boeing, driving execution and affordability while meeting customer needs."

Additional information on the four programs recognized by Aviation Week for Program Excellence follows:

• Recognition of the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership program is a validation of the value of performance-based contracting, in which the customer pays for an agreed-to level of readiness and cost as compared with a traditional transactional spares-and-support contract for individual parts and services. Boeing's C-17 support program started with 42 aircraft at operating bases in Charleston, S.C., and Altus, Okla. Today, Boeing supports 236 C-17s worldwide. All operators benefit from the economies of scale found in the "Virtual Fleet" concept that defines this global system-level aircraft sustainment approach.
• For the P-8A Poseidon, the company has incorporated the best of Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Boeing Commercial Airplanes, including large-scale systems integration experience and 737 Next-Generation aircraft production efficiencies, to provide the U.S. Navy with 21st century maritime surveillance capabilities at the lowest possible cost. The P-8A program is using a "first-in-industry" in-line production process to better meet the customer's requirements, and has set the stage for how all future military derivative aircraft will be designed and built. To date, the program has met all program of record milestones since inception and is on track to support Initial Operating Capability in 2013.
• The Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) program originated from an urgent need for a precision weapon to consistently defeat fast-moving targets. Through close cooperation with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Boeing developed a subsystem kit integrating laser guidance with conventional JDAM. Laser JDAM is a prime example of significantly improving capabilities through the application of affordable and innovative modular design improvements, such as laser spot trackers, to already-proven JDAM technologies. Warfighters can now effectively prosecute fast-moving targets with the same accuracy, reliability and affordability as with the baseline JDAM.
• The MH-47G Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS) is a direct response to the unique operational needs of Special Operations heavy-assault flight crews. The purpose of the system is to decrease pilot workload by augmenting the flying qualities of the H-47 Chinook, thus making the aircraft easier to fly. The U.S. Special Operations Command, which operates MH-47G Chinook aircraft, saw the benefits of the DAFCS and initiated a program to modify the existing flight control computer software and add new control law algorithms. The upgraded MH-47G control laws achieved measurable and significant workload reduction in both maneuvering flight and steady flight.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 63,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

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