Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is an American large tactical and strategic airlifter that first flew on September 15, 1991, entering service in January 1995 with the 17th Airlift Squadron, United States Air Force (USAF). The C-17 continues the Douglas tradition of naming military cargo aircraft “Globemaster” (C-74 Globemaster and C-124 Globemaster II). Developed by McDonnell Douglas from the YC-15 in the 1980s and early 1990s to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and complement the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy in US military service. Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997. Along with the US military, it serves with several countries and NATO. Production ended in 2014 with 279 airframes built.

The airframe structure is mainly aluminium alloy metal with kevlar and carbon fibre composites. The semi-monocoque fuselage has a glass cockpit and a cargo hold measuring 27 m (88 ft) long, 5.5 m (18 ft) wide and 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in) high with a maximum payload weight of 77.500 metric tons (85.5 US tons). Loaded through a large aft ramp, it can carry palletised cargo, vehicles, including an M1 Abrams main battle tank, paratroopers, stretchers and ambulatory patients. Wings are shoulder-mounted cantilever, sweptback with winglets and externally blown flaps. The tail assembly is a conventional T-tail design. The retractable undercarriage is a tricycle type with the two six-wheeled main units mounted in fairings on each fuselage side. The flight crew consists of two pilots and a loadmaster.

The C-17A uses four Pratt & Whitney PW2000/F117 axial-flow high-bypass turbofan engines; pylon mounted two under each wing. Thrust reversers provide enough force to move the aircraft backwards when on the ground. The Globemaster III has a cruise speed of 829 km/h (515 mph), a service ceiling of 13,716 m (45,000 ft) and range of 5,200 km (3,231 mi).