The Boeing Co. will realign its military aircraft business — a move that is expected to result in some work force reductions.

Company executives said Tuesday that the move is aimed at transforming Boeing Military Aircraft from a "product-based business" to one focused on capabilities.

"This reorganization, coupled with our productivity goals, will reduce organizational complexity and allow us to be more efficient," Boeing Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick said in a statement.

Boeing will cut just under 20 executive positions in its military aircraft business, a spokesman said. Boeing anticipates that "additional reductions across all levels of the organization are anticipated in coming months."

Boeing Military Aircraft is one of three businesses within the Boeing Defense, Space & Security unit, which is based in St. Louis County.

No local manufacturing jobs are expected to be affected by this restructuring. However, Boeing Defense, Space & Security was already looking to reduce as many as 400 jobs, a spokesman said. The defense unit employs about 15,000 in the St. Louis area.

Boeing executives said in July that layoffs were likely in its St. Louis County-based defense business as a result of Pentagon spending cuts.

Under Boeing Military Aircraft's restructuring, the four new divisions are: Global Strike, based in St. Louis County; Mobility, based in Ridley Park, Pa.; Surveillance and Engagement, based in Seattle; and Missiles and Unmanned Airborne Systems, based in St. Charles.

Boeing Military Aircraft spokesman Damien Mills said the Global Strike division will now oversee rotorcraft, such as the AH-64 Apache, as well as fighter jets and training aircraft. The realignment takes effect on Oct. 1.

"This is more of a restructuring of how we look at products within our business," Mills said.

Chadwick said the changes will allow the company to meet domestic and global defense requirements for the next decade and beyond.