AEROSPACE

McDonnell Douglas C-17 Is Choice of Top Brass: The nine U.S. military officers responsible for commanding future battles want the Pentagon to buy another 80 McDonnell Douglas Corp. C-17 cargo planes, rather than Boeing Co. 747s, to help meet air-delivery requirements, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili told Defense Secretary William J. Perry, Defense Week newsletter reported. A fleet of C-17s and 747s could meet most airlift requirements and would cost billions of dollars less than 80 more C-17s. The commanders-in-chief, though, want to have 120 military cargo planes, rather than a mixed fleet of military and commercial planes. The Pentagon’s defense acquisition board next week is expected to decide how many C-17s, beyond the 40 already on order, the Air Force will purchase.