Hello and welcome back. I decided to go modern military for this post. Aside from the T-38 blog I posted on Memorial Day, I haven't made a blog post with an active military aircraft since January. Frankly, that is too long. Today's focus is on the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The title of this image is "Gray Ghost". [In my defense, there are lot of different aircraft to post about and I try to cover a broad scope of aviation to appeal to a wider audience]
Conceived in the latter half of the 1980s, the cargo jet first flew in 1991, becoming operational in 1995. For those who are counting, it has already been in the Air Force inventory for 30 years of active service. Over this same period, the C-5 fleet has shrunk in size to 58 aircraft and with spares availability scarcity, the C-5 combat readiness could be affected. As a result, the C-17 has become THE workhorse for the US military's air cargo role and the aircraft is being used at a much higher rate than expected.
As a part of the USAF's Air Mobility Command (AMC), The Globemaster III is a critical component allowing the United States to project power around the world. With a potential shortfall of airlift capacity, some have called for more aircraft to be built by Boeing (an Air Force General for one). However, that is too little too late as the original tooling to build the aircraft and the supply chain are long gone. The Air Force has been talking about a next generation cargo airlifter for years, the C-X program, but has failed to get any traction and will cost billions in development and production and is at least a good decade, or two, away from happening, Until then, the C-17 will be the tip of the spear of America's armed forces cargo airlift.
Thanks for visiting.
Talley ho!
Steve