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The Boeing Company today announced a contract award from the US Air Force (USAF) that will keep the C 17A Globemaster III flying and mission-ready for decades to come.
The contract provides for the design, manufacture, integration, qualification and military certification of a modernized flight deck for the C 17A. The program replaces critical avionics and mission essential equipment with modern, modular open systems architecture (MOSA) that enables plug and play enhancements and ensures the fleet can adopt new capabilities rapidly and affordably.
“The C 17A has been the backbone of global air mobility for over three decades,” said Travis Williams, Vice President of United States Air Force Mobility & Training Services, Boeing, in a company news release. “With the U.S. Air Force requirement to keep the C-17A viable through 2075, we already have a clear and achievable roadmap to support their needs, and the needs of our international partners around the globe. By resolving avionics obsolescence and introducing MOSA, we’re preserving a proven, highly dependable, heavy airlifter and keeping it at the forefront of performance and efficiency for decades to come.”
The C-17 Globemaster III is the most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can transport litters and ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations.
The C-17 made its maiden flight on Sept. 15, 1991, and the first production model was delivered to Charleston Air Force Base, now identified as Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, on June 14, 1993. The first squadron of C-17s, the 17th Airlift Squadron, was declared operationally ready Jan. 17, 1995. The Air Force originally programmed to buy 120 C-17s.
Boeing delivered 275 C 17A aircraft between 1993 and 2015. The Air Force received 222 and our international partners received 53, forming what is now a well-established fully integrated virtual fleet support system across nine partner nations.
The C-17 measures 174 feet long (53 meters) with a wingspan of 169 feet, 10 inches (51.75 meters). The aircraft is powered by four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines, which are based on the commercial Pratt and Whitney PW2040 used on the Boeing 757. Each engine is rated at 40,440 pounds of thrust and includes thrust reversers that direct the flow of air upward and forward to avoid ingestion of dust and debris. Additionally, thrust reversers provide enough thrust to reverse the aircraft while taxing backwards and create in-flight drag for maximum rate descents.
The aircraft is operated by a crew of three (pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster), reducing manpower requirements, risk exposure and long-term operating costs. Cargo is loaded onto the C-17 through a large aft ramp and door system that accommodates virtually all of the Army’s air-transportable equipment such as a 69-ton M1 Abrams main battle tank, armored vehicles, trucks and trailers. Additionally, the cargo floor has rollers that can be flipped from a flat floor to accommodate wheeled or tracked vehicles to rollerized conveyers to accommodate palletized cargo. The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers with their accompanying equipment.
Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 pounds (77,519 kilograms), and its maximum gross takeoff weight is 585,000 pounds (265,352 kilograms). With a payload of 164,900 pounds (74,797 kilograms) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 feet (8,534 meters), the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles. Its cruise speed is approximately 450 knots (.74 Mach).
The design of the aircraft (high-lift wing, slats, and externally blown flaps) allows it to operate through small, austere airfields. The C-17 can take off and land on runways as short as 3,500 feet (1,064 meters) and only 90 feet wide (27.4 meters). Even on such narrow runways, the C-17 can turn around using a three-point star turn and its backing capability.
Photo credit: Boeing
Dario Leone: All articles
