GLOBAL MOBILITYGLOBAL MOBILITYProviding Strategic Airlift For the Joint ForceProviding Strategic Airlift For the Joint Force

C-17 GLOBEMASTER C-17 GLOBEMASTER C-5 GalaxyC-5 Galaxy

Rebuilding An Aging Fleet• Aircraft within the fleet average 25 years old.• Some date back to the Eisenhower Administration. • Only 52% of the fleet is fully mission capable.• Since Desert Storm, the Air Force has flown an average of 2.2M hours/year.• Yet the inventory is 31% smaller & 42% older overall.• The Air Force has been continuously engaged for more than 17 years.

The problem of aging equipment is most acute for the Air Force…the Service has been conducting combat operations in the Gulf for 17 years, patrolling the desert skies and now providing the wartime logistics lifeline to the battlefield. The same 17 years have seen underinvestment in modernization and recapitalization…a financial burden that snowballs with every year. Michele Flournoy, Center for a New American Security

Fully Mission Capable

Partially Mission Capable

Depot / Mod Left on Ramp

64%(3,366)

18%

9%

9%

Fully Mission Capable rate dropped 12 points

Aggregate(5,242)

FY93-Q3 FY07-Q3

55%(2,414)

24%

10%

11%

Aggregate(4,364)

FY08-Q1

52%(2,233)

28%

9%

11%

Aggregate(4,326)

The demand for airlift is high & will grow.

• Continued high operations tempo of ground forces.

• Creation of AfriCom – increased emphasis on Africa.

• Reduction of troops in Europe and Far East requiring more lift to get them to battle.

• Increased use of C-17s in Iraq to reduce the number of convoys on the roads.

Expect More Global Demands for Airlift

In an Uncertain Future, Adequate Airlift is Vital to National Security.

• Lift assets are depended upon to carry troops to the fight, to haul fuel for aircraft and vehicles, to bring medical patients to hospitals in the states, to provide humanitarian aid to victims of natural disasters, to evacuate US citizens from violent political upheavals in foreign countries.

• Airlift needs to be able to respond rapidly – anywhere, anytime.

• Civil Reserve Aircraft Fleet operate in a permissive environment & can support but not replace airlift requirement.

• The new KC-45 capacity will be useful, but during military surges, they will first and foremost be tasked with refueling priorities and unavailable for cargo.

“Without the C‑17 there would not have been a northern front for General Franks.”

General John Handy, USAF (Ret)

AMC Airlift: The ‘Lifeline of Freedom’

• Air Mobility aircraft are rolling down the runway at the rate of one every 90 seconds worldwide.

• Recently, during the Iraq “surge,” the AMC had a takeoff every 73 seconds.

• USAF’s mobility system has been running at full-throttle since September 11, 2001.

Providing Airlift for the Warfighter

• Lift operations since 9/11 have reached 1.36 million flying hours in support of our Joint Force, more than the combined total of the Berlin airlift and Desert Storm/Desert Shield.

• Overall, since 9/11, Air Mobility Command has flown more than 788,000 sorties, moved 6.44 million passengers, and delivered 3.9 billion pounds of fuel.

Airlift Inventory at a Glance

Current inventory:• 183 C-17s• 111 C-5s at various stages of

reliability, some set for retirement

Needed inventory:• Minimum of 245 C-17s plus upgraded C-5 fleet

– Includes offsetting C-17s for retiring C-5s– Unfunded requirement of 15 C-17s– Unknown futures

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne has estimated 15 to 30 C-5s (of the 111) are expected to be retired; too costly to extend the life of the aircraft.

“The DOD made the decision to redeploy troops from some forward areas of the world – Germany, Korea, Japan, etc. They put them in places like Fort Riley, Kansas. How in the world do we think we will get them to future hotspots? It will be the C-17 upon which will ride our future.” – General Barry McCaffrey, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Weighing Strategic Airlift Needs

Photo: A US-contracted Russian AN-124. The aircraft are contracted by the U.S. military because of burgeoning global airlift demands.

A Key Mobility Study is Set for Completion in 2009

Air Mobility Command operates 294 “T-Tails” for strategic airlift. Yet, consider this:

• 15-30 of the oldest C-5s should be retired, • Russian cargo aircraft are supplementing our surge requirement, • The C-17 production line is scheduled to close,• Many older C-5s are not rated for use in warzones,• The C-17 is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

In Focus: Mission Capability

Mission Capable Rates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08*

Fiscal Year

Rate

s

C-17A

C-5A

C-5B

C-5C

The C-17 consistently remains between 80 and 90% capable, while the aging C-5A & B lines have been trending down. The oldest line – the C-5As – are around 50 percent mission capable. The two-pronged upgrade program – the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) and the Re-engining and Reliability Program (RERP) have the combined goal of raising C-5 reliability to 75%.

The C-17s maintenance man-hours per flying hour are much lower and much more consistent – a predictable expense that can be planned in the budget. In contrast, the aging C-5A has averaged over 30 man-hours maintenance per flying hours, and often more, while the C-17 averages under 6 hours.

Maintenance Time for Aging C-5s Taking Off;C-17 Maintenance Remaining Level

Maintenance Manhours per Flight Hour

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08*

Fiscal Year

Man

ho

urs

per

Fli

gh

t H

ou

r

C-17A

C-5A/C

C-5B

the C-17 Globemaster IIIThe Most Dependable Airlift Asset in the Fleet

• It is the Air Force’s newest strategic airlift option, in use since the mid-1990s. The oldest C-17 is 15 years newer than the newest C-5.

• It has a track record of reliability and maintainability, with full & partial mission availability of 75 & 82% respectively.

• It delivers strategic effects in a tactical environment, with access to more runways.

• Regardless of upcoming Mobility decisions, the C-17s currently in use will remain the mainstay of U.S. strategic airlift for some years. There is no successor aircraft in planning.

‘We have to be prepared to perform our mission every day and that’s why over the last couple of years we’ve added ‘Unrivaled Global Reach for America Always.’ It’s in there for a reason. Because it never stops. It never lets up.”

General Arthur J. Lichte, Commander, Air Mobility Command, 26 Sep 2007

The C-17 Globemaster• The newest airlifter & the most reliable. A

mission completion success rate of 92%.• The most flexible airlifter – accesses more

runways, delivers strategic effects in a tactical environment.

• Far fewer maintenance manhours at just 6 man-hours per flying hour.

The C-5 Galaxy• Undergoing upgrades to improve reliability

from about 50% to a goal of 75%.• The production line, built from 1970-1989, is

closed and new aircraft are unavailable.• Greatest cargo aircraft capacity; size limits

runway access preventing tactical use.• Higher maintenance man-hour rates at over 30

man-hours per flying hour.

Compare & Contrast: the C-17 Globemaster III & the C-5 Galaxy

Preserve the C-17 Production Line• The C-17 is the only strategic airlift line open. The cost of restarting it would be immense.

• It would be premature to allow the line close before the conclusions of an ongoing Air Mobility study.

• The ramifications of losing a line with no replacements aircraft on the drawing board should be thoroughly considered.

• The C-17 has tactical advantages to serve the warfighters.

• There are no available alternatives to the C-17. The C-5 mission reliability rate is lower, some older C-5s will be retired, others cannot be rated for warzones, and the RERP and AMP upgrades are slow & costly.

• The question of the unfunded requirement of 15 C-17s remains unresolved … as does the uncertain future we face.

AFA Recommends:

• Keep the C-17 line open to ensure global response capability in peace or war.

• Plan to increase total strategic airlift & build new aircraft, including the 15 additional C-17s currently listed as an ‘unfunded requirement.’

• Work with the 44th President and 111th Congress to achieve future airlift needs.

• Complete the next comprehensiveAir Mobility study, due in 2009; examine those findings & ensure airlift requirements are met.

183 of 204 Delivered183 of 204 Delivered

Charleston50 - 2003

Jackson NG8 - 2004

Altus Tng15 - 2007

Altus Tng15 - 2007

Brize Norton6 - 2001

March AFR8 - 2006

Travis13 - 2007

McChord44 - 2007

Amberley4 - 2006Hawaii

8 - 2006

McGuire13 - 2005

Dover13 - 2008

Elmendorf8 - 2007

Active C-17 Bases International Base Future Bases

Canada 4 - 2007

Altus Tng15 - 2007

Altus Tng15 - 2007

QatarQatar

NATONATO•NATO – Papa, Hungary

•Doha, Qatar

Future BasesFuture Bases

C-17 Bed Down Locations

Delivers Heavy & Outsize Cargo Into

Short Runways

Semi-Prepared Runways

Small Rampsor Narrow Body

Slots

Direct Delivers Over Intercontinental Distances into

Small Austere Airfields

Carries Airborne Troops Anywhere: “Long Flight, Ready to Fight”

Reduces Manpower: 3-person Aircrew; Breaks less and

is easier to fix

Throughand/or

Unique to C-17: Responsive Power Projection

Over 1,342,461 Flight Hours

190 USAF Aircraft Program On Price Ahead of Schedule

190 USAF Aircraft Program On Price Ahead of Schedule

14 International Aircraft Program 5 of 6 UK C-17s 4 Australians C-17s 3 of 4 Canadian C-17

14 International Aircraft Program 5 of 6 UK C-17s 4 Australians C-17s 3 of 4 Canadian C-17

C-17 Performance