Is this really the end? Boeing has told its top C-17 suppliers that it will stop ordering parts because the Air Force has not commited to future orders of the plane. Boeing took a similar step last year, but Congress coughed up enough orders to keep the line going. Now, the Air Force has omitted C-17 funding in the 2008 budget that Congress is reviewing. There had been some international commitments, but those orders are not coming through for various reasons. The decision on whether or not the C-17 keeps going is seeped in politics, so the Boeing notification to suppliers might just be a ploy. Still, it will get noticed. At stake are around 6,000 jobs at the Long Beach plant - and as many as 30,000 jobs throughout the entire program. The Long Beach line is still expected to remain open through the middle of 2009. Aviation Week