06:18 GMT, May 11, 2009 ST. LOUIS | Boeing [NYSE: BA] today submitted a proposal to the U.S. Air Force to continue providing Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) for the KC-10 Extender fleet. The Air Force is expected to name the winner of the contract later this year.

KC-10 CLS includes depot-level maintenance and modifications, supply-chain management and other critical support tasks for the Extender, an Air Mobility Command tanker/cargo aircraft that has played a prominent role in anti-terrorist and humanitarian operations around the world.

"Our team is proud to bring proven performance and experience to the warfighter that our competition cannot offer," said Mike Wright, KC-10 program director for Boeing. "We provide global readiness to the KC-10 fleet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and have done so since 1998."

The Boeing-led KC-10 CLS team has provided depot-level maintenance for the current fleet of 59 aircraft more than 750 times, with a 100 percent on-time delivery rate.

"We are the leaders in tanker support and we look forward to continuing that role for years to come," said Wright.

More than 500 suppliers and partners in 37 states have supported the KC-10 Extender, a modified Boeing DC-10, since it entered service in 1981. While the majority of the work is done in San Antonio, Boeing also operates two KC-10 Contractor Operated and Maintained Base Supply (COMBS) teams at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The COMBS services provide ground support equipment maintenance, parts and field service representatives who supply technical expertise and training as needed.