Sunrise Sunset (click to view full) Whats the right balance between new C-17s and existing C-5s The US Air Force believes that the right balance involves keeping some of the larger C-5s, and thought they could save money by upgrading and renewing their avionics (AMP) and engines (RERP). Thats about the cost of a 747-8 freighter, for much higher availability rates than the C-5, and a longer lifespan. The AN-124s commercial success may get its production line restarted, but the C-5 has no such hope. Meanwhile, the USA still needs long-range, heavy load airlift. To add insult to injury, the Russians not only built a bigger plane (the AN-124), they sold it off at the end of the Cold War to semi-private operators, turning it into a commercial success whose customer list now includes NATO. It also has the highest operating cost of any US Air Force weapon system, owing to extremely high maintenance demands as well as poor fuel economy. Keep reading for the whole story with recent events put in context C-5 Galaxy (click to view full) When it was introduced, back in 1970, the C-5 Galaxy was the largest plane in the world. The C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in February 2014. ![]() ![]() The C-5M Super Galaxy strategic transport aircraft, a modernized version of the legacy C-5, was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin to extend the capability of the C-5 Galaxy fleet to remain in service at least until 2040.
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