The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that Oregon will benefit from an estimated 300 total jobs and generate an estimated $14 million in annual economic impact if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force's next aerial refueling aircraft.

Boeing submitted its proposal July 9 to replace 179 of the Air Force's 400 Eisenhower-era KC-135 aircraft. The Air Force is expected to award a contract early next year.

"Boeing works with more than 300 independent suppliers and vendors in Oregon on a number of projects, and we're proud that our business in the state supports hundreds of jobs," said Mark DeVoss, Supplier Management director, Boeing Tanker Programs. "We look forward to continuing our successful relationship with Oregon companies by welcoming this select group of suppliers to the United States Tanker Team."

Oregon manufacturers ready to produce critical components on the NewGen Tanker include:

• Air Oil Products, Portland

• Boeing, Portland

• Meggitt Polymer Solutions, McMinnville

• Northwest Rubber Extruders, Beaverton

• Oeco, Milwaukie

• QPM Aerospace, Portland

• Ran Tech Engineering, Milwaukie

• Rosen Sunvisor Systems, Eugene.

Currently, Boeing has 1,552 employees in Oregon and works with nearly 307 suppliers/vendors, delivering a total $177 million in annual economic impact.

The NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with the latest and most advanced technology. Capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients, the combat-ready NewGen Tanker will meet or exceed the 372 mandatory requirements described in the service's final KC-X Request for Proposal released Feb. 24.

The NewGen Tanker will be made with a low-risk approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities in Washington state and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout the nation, with decades of experience delivering dependable military tanker and derivative aircraft. Nationwide, the NewGen Tanker program will support approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states.

The Boeing NewGen Tanker also will be more cost-effective to own and operate than a larger, heavier tanker. It will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel than the competitor's airplane.

Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting tankers for decades. These include the KC-135 that will be replaced in the KC-X competition, and the KC-10 fleet. The company also has delivered four KC-767Js to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and is on contract to deliver four KC-767As to the Italian Air Force.