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C-17 Globemaster III



[

NATO

The Royal Danish Air Force signed a letter of intent to purchase C-17s on July 19, 2006 at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show to participate in the joint purchase and operation of C-17s within NATO, a program called the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability.[46] A further letter of intent was announced on September 12, 2006 that includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and the United States to be part of a larger NATO joint purchase.[47] This purchase would probably be similar to NATO's purchase of the E-3A Sentry. Later on, NATO countries Hungary and Norway, as well as Partner country Sweden also signed the Letter of Intent.[46] Finland has also decided to join the program.[48] The purchase is to be for two C-17s, which will operate in the same fashion as the NATO AWACS aircraft.[49] The AWACS aircraft are jointly manned by crew from various NATO countries.

On May 9, 2008, a Foreign Military Sale Notice was posted at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifying the US Congress of a possible sale of two C-17s and related equipment worth up to US$700 million.[50] The sale is expected to be completed in June 2008.[51]

To support the two NATO C-17s in the Heavy Airlift Wing to be based at Papa Air Base in Hungary the United States Air Force will provide an additional aircraft for use by the wing. [50][51]

[

German Luftwaffe

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resultant tsunamis placed a strain on the global strategic airlifter pool. The performance of the C-17 in USAF and RAF service has led to Germany considering 2-4 C-17s for the Luftwaffe in a Dry lease arrangement, at least until the A400M is available in 2009. Germany's former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer stated in the German news magazine Der Spiegel that the government needed its own organic strategic transport capability to be able to respond to disasters in a better manner than it was able to for this incident. During the tsunami relief effort, Germany tried to acquire transport through its usual method of wet leasing Antonov airlifters via private companies, but found to its dismay that there were no available aircraft. While the stated goal of a C-17 lease would be to last until the A400M's arrival, the Luftwaffe may elect to retain them.[52] The Luftwaffe acquired meanwhile airlift capacity through the NATO SALIS contract.[53]

[

Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Armed Forces have in a spring 2006 budget proposal identified a need for a strategic airlift capability for use with the EU Nordic Battle Group led by Sweden. Repeated reports in the Swedish media suggest that the Armed Forces are lobbying hard for the airlift requirement to be satisfied with the purchase of two C-17s. A request for information on the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration website stated that Sweden must be able to deploy the battle group up to 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) away with 6000 tons of military equipment, quarter of that being oversized. In late 2006, Sweden signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to join the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (NSAC).[46]

[

Japan Air Self-Defense Force

In September, 2006, General Paul V. Hester, head of the United States Pacific Air Forces, stated that Japan was considering purchasing C-17s to equip the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.[54]

[

Commercial interest

In the mid-1990s, McDonnell Douglas began to market the C-17 to commercial civilian operators, under the name MD-17.[55] Due to its high projected fuel, maintenance and depreciation cost for a low-cycle military design in commercial service, as well as a limited market dominated by the An-124 and A300-600ST, very little interest was expressed. After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, the program was renamed BC-17.[56] However, the aircraft received no orders.

In March 2007, Global Heavylift Holdings LLC expressed interest in the purchase of up to thirty new airframes.[57] Another press release by Global Heavylift Holdings a few days later was a little more tame as to their financial backing.[58]

[

Operators

RAF, RAAF and USAF C-17s and flight crews at RAF Brize Norton in June 2007
RAF, RAAF and USAF C-17s and flight crews at RAF Brize Norton in June 2007
A training mission in Jan. 2007 over the Hawaiian Islands
A training mission in Jan. 2007 over the Hawaiian Islands
A C-17 release a barrage of flares. The wing-tip vortices can be seen in the flare smoke behind the aircraft.
A C-17 release a barrage of flares. The wing-tip vortices can be seen in the flare smoke behind the aircraft.
A C-17 performs touch-and-go landings while another C-17 prepares for take-off
A C-17 performs touch-and-go landings while another C-17 prepares for take-off
Flag of Australia Australia
Flag of Canada Canada
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of the United States United States
  • United States Air Force : 171 total, (71 C-17, 100 C-17ER) with 19 C-17ERs remaining on order as of February 2008. Total on order and delivered is 190.[61]

[

Deliveries

2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991
6 16 16 16 16 16 16 14 13 11 10 7 6 6 8 5 4 1

Sources: C-17 Globemaster III Pocket Guide,[62] Boeing IDS Major Deliveries[63]

[

Notable incidents

  • On December 10, 2003, a US Air Force C-17 (tail number 98-0057) was hit by a SAM after take-off from Baghdad, Iraq. One engine was disabled and the aircraft returned for a safe landing.[64][65] The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[66]
  • On August 6, 2005, a US Air Force C-17 (tail number 01-0196) ran off the runway at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan while attempting to land, destroying the airplane's nose and main landing gear, at the time making it the most extensively damaged C-17 to date.[67] It took a Boeing recovery team two months to get the aircraft ready to attempt a flight back to Boeing's Long Beach production facility.[68] The five day flight back to the United States had to be performed by a test pilot, because the temporary repairs done to the aircraft resulted in numerous performance limitations.[69] The aircraft repair was completed at Long Beach in October 2006 and the aircraft has reentered normal operations. The aircraft underwent the Block 16 upgrade in December 2007.

[

Specifications (C-17)

Data from USAF fact sheet,[18] Boeing,[70] and AerospaceWeb[71]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3: 2 pilots, 1 loadmaster
  • Capacity:
    • 102 troops or
    • 36 litter and 54 ambulatory patients
  • Payload: 170,900 lb (77,519 kg) of cargo distributed at max over 18 463L master pallets or a mix of palletized cargo and vehicles
  • Length: 174 ft (53 m)
  • Wingspan: 169.8 ft (51.75 m)
  • Height: 55.1 ft (16.8 m)
  • Wing area: 3,800 ft² (353 m²)
  • Empty weight: 282,500 lb (128,100 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 585,000 lb (265,350 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans, 40,440 lbf (180 kN) each
  • Fuel capacity: 35,546 US gal (134,556 L)

Performance


[

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

[

References

  1. ^ Boeing Delivers Fourth Royal Australian Air Force C-17, Boeing.com, January 18, 2008.
  2. ^ "FY 2009 Budget Estimates." p. 2–1. United States Air Force. February 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Boeing Delivers Canada's First C-17"
  4. ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 3-20.
  5. ^ Historical Realities of C-17 Program
  6. ^ a b CRS Report for Congress. Military Airlift: C-17 Aircraft Program
  7. ^ GAO Testimony before the SubCommitte on Military Acquisition
  8. ^ a b GAO Comparison of C-5 and C-17 Airfield Availability
  9. ^ C-17 Cost and Performance Issues
  10. ^ C-17 Globemaster Support of Operation Joint Endevour
  11. ^ Air Force Secretary Says Modernization, C-17 on Track, Air Force magazine, September 19, 1995.
  12. ^ "Denmark Signs Up For Boeing C-17 In NATO Deal." Christie, R. The Wall Street Journal. July 19, 2006.
  13. ^ Boeing preparing to end C-17 production
  14. ^ "Boeing's C-17 line wins a reprieve on new funding", US Air Force
  15. ^ Boeing Announces C-17 Line May End in mid-2009; Stops Procurement of Long-lead Parts, Boeing
  16. ^ a b Pratt & Whitney's F117 page
  17. ^ "C-17/C-17 ER Flammable Material Locations." Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. May 1, 2005.
  18. ^ a b c d C-17 fact sheet, US Air Force
  19. ^ Norton 2001, p. 94-95.
  20. ^ Boeing: Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Claims 13 World Records
  21. ^ NAA: National Aeronautic Association
  22. ^ a b c d Fulghum, D., Butler, A., Barrie, D.: "Australia Picks C-17." Aviation Week & Space Technology. March 13, 2006, page 43.
  23. ^ USAF reveals C-17 cracks and dispute on production future
  24. ^ a b O'Connell, Dominic. "Political clash haunts MoD deal decision", The Business, Sunday Business Group, 1999-12-05. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  25. ^ "RAF's Globe Master." Global Defence Review. 2003.
  26. ^ "Fifth C-17 reports for duty with RAF." FlightGlobal.com April 14, 2008.
  27. ^ "MoD pins hopes on Boeing C17 amid Airbus doubts." Robertson, D. The Times. December 28, 2006.
  28. ^ "Browne: Purchase of extra C-17 will 'significantly boost' UK military operations". UK Ministry of Defence news, July 27, 2007.
  29. ^ "RAF gets sixth C-17 Globemaster", UK Ministry of Defence news, 4 December 2007.
  30. ^ "Stock Standard." Aviation Week & Space Technology. December 11, 2006.
  31. ^ Defence to buy C-17 Aircraft. Retrieved on 2006-05-09.
  32. ^ "Boeing wins $780 mln deal for Australia C-17s." Reuters. July 31, 2006.
  33. ^ RAAF gets first of giant planes. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
  34. ^ First C-17 arrives in Australia. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
  35. ^ The Hon. Greg Combet MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement (2008-01-18). "Air Force's C-17 fleet delivered on time, on budget". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  36. ^ Creedy, Steve. "Second C-17 on course for Brisbane", The Australian, 2007-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. 
  37. ^ "Strategic lift capacity for Canada", The Ploughshares Monitor, 2005.
  38. ^ Airlift Capability Project - Strategic ACP-S - ACAN MERX Website - Government of Canada
  39. ^ Gov't Inks $3.4B Deal to Buy Boeing Jets: CTV. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  40. ^ ""Canada gets USAF slots for August delivery after signing for four Boeing C-17 in 20-year C$4bn deal, settles provincial workshare quabble". Wastnage, J. Flight International. February 5, 2007.
  41. ^ "Canada One C-17 makes first flight", Boeing, July 25, 2007.
  42. ^ "First CC-177 Globemaster III Receives Patriotic and Enthusiastic Welcome" - Department of National Defence.
  43. ^ "Canada's newest military aircraft leaves on mission" Cnews.com August 24, 2007.
  44. ^ a b "Canada takes delivery of final CC-177", Canadian Forces, April 3, 2008.
  45. ^ "Canada's Air Force - Aircraft - CC-177 Globemaster III"
  46. ^ a b c NATO Strategic Airlift Capability
  47. ^ NATO to place order for C-17s,Long Beach Press Telegram September 13, 2006
  48. ^ "Finland joins strategic airlifter procurement scheme", NewsRoom Finland, 25.3.2008.
  49. ^ NATO AWACS Homepage of the E-3 Component]
  50. ^ a b "FMS - Strategic Airlift Capability - C-17 GLOBEMASTER III Aircraft", Defense Security Cooperation Agency, 2008-05-09. Retrieved on 2008-05-09. 
  51. ^ a b Hoyle, Craig. "NATO to finalise C-17 order in June", Flight International, 30 May 2008.
  52. ^ "Berlin designates tsunami relief as aid." Expatica. January 17, 2005.
  53. ^ Background — Airlifters — NATO's Strategic Airlift Interim Solution Canadian American Strategic Review (CASR) Simon Fraser University
  54. ^ "Aussies learn C-17 ropes." Air Force Times. October 25, 2006.
  55. ^ MD-17 Receives FAA Certification
  56. ^ Boeing proposes BC-17X
  57. ^ Bloomberg.com: Global Heavylift Plans to Buy C-17 Cargo Planes From Boeing
  58. ^ PRNewswire
  59. ^ "Master plan for C-17s." Air Force News. Volume 48, No. 4, March 23, 2006
  60. ^ "Canada's New Government Re-Establishes Squadron to Support C-17 Aircraft", Canadian Department of National Defence, 18 July 2007.
  61. ^ "Boeing predicts 'good year' for at-risk C-17 transport", Flightglobal.com, 21 February 2008.
  62. ^ "C-17 Globemaster III Pocket Guide", The Boeing Company, Long Beach, CA, March 2006
  63. ^ IDS Major Deliveries (current year), Boeing, retrieved 13 May 2008.
  64. ^ SAM incidents
  65. ^ Aviation Safety net information on incident to 98-0057
  66. ^ Image from 2004
  67. ^ Bagram Runway Reopens After C-17 Incident - DefendAmerica News Article
  68. ^ Boeing Frontiers Online
  69. ^ Skypark Pilots Honored
  70. ^ a b Boeing C-17 backgrounder
  71. ^ C-17 Globemaster III page on Aerospaceweb.org
  • Kennedy, Betty R. Globemaster III: Acquiring the C-17, Air Mobility Command Office of History, 2004.
  • Norton, Bill. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Specialty Press, 2001. ISBN 1-58007-061-2.

[

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