Boeing in $3bn air force contract

The C-17 is the workhorse of the US fleet of cargo planes

Boeing has received a US Air Force contract for 15 C-17 military transport planes, worth nearly $3bn (£2bn), the US Department of Defence has announced.

The contract revives the fortunes of the C-17 - the workhorse of the US fleet of long-range cargo planes.

US firm Boeing had been on the verge of scrapping C-17 production in 2006.

US Congress has recently approved $3.6bn (£2.4bn) in funding for the acquisition of the 15 aircraft that would be used in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Last year, the US Department of Defence cancelled a controversial $35bn (£24bn) competition for a fleet of new air refuelling tankers.

The contract had been awarded to Northrop Grumman and its European partner EADS.

But, this decision was then overturned, allowing Boeing to re-enter the fray.