By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Boeing will sell 12 F-15 fighter jets to Singapore, ensuring the St. Louis production line's viability through 2010.
The announcement comes 10 months after Boeing rolled out the first of 40 F-15's it sold to South Korea.
Sen. Bond says though the U.S. government has made no new long-term commitment for more jets, he thinks the high cost of alternative aircraft will spur business for St. Louis.
"And I fully expect that the numbers will become so obvious that they will have to come up with the request for funding F-15 purchases," Bond said.
News of the deal comes as regional leaders mourn the impending loss of the Ford Co. assembly plant in Hazelwood not far from Boeing's facility.
Sen. Jim Talent says deals such deals from Boeing will be an important part of the local economy in the wake of Ford's departure.
"This company, these jobs we're talking I think about 1,800 jobs directly and 600 supplier jobs around the state," Talent said. "They're very, very important to the region, and we're committed to trying to sustain them, especially in light of what's happening with (the Ford plant in)Hazelwood."
In the last two years, Congress has appropriated $175 million for the F-15 program.