Boeing's Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Facility Gets Contract for AC-130U Gunships.

Byline: Rebecca Cason

Dec. 12--Four AC-130U gunships for the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command will be built at the Boeing facility in Fort Walton Beach, according to industry sources.

A contract, which would bring extensive aircraft modification work and about 300 jobs to Okaloosa County, is currently in the last stages of being finalized between the U.S. Air Force and the Boeing Co.

Boeing Special Operations Forces (SOF) Aerospace Support Center in the Fort Walton Beach Industrial Park is expected to convert four existing C-130 airframes into the more advanced AC-130U models, which are assigned to the 16th Special Operations Wing at …