C-17A Globemaster III - Operators

The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II.

The C-17 is based upon the YC-15, a smaller prototype airlifter designed during the 1970s. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. Compared to the YC-15, the redesigned airlifter differed in having swept wings, increased size, and more powerful engines. Development was protracted by a series of design issues, causing the company to incur a loss of nearly US$1.5 billion on the program's development phase. On 15 September 1991, roughly one year behind schedule, the first C-17 performed its maiden flight. The C-17 formally entered USAF service on 17 January 1995. Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, continued to manufacture the C-17 for almost two decades. The final C-17 was completed at the Long Beach, California, plant and flown on 29 November 2015.

The C-17 commonly performs tactical and strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world; additional roles include medical evacuation and airdrop duties. The transport is in service with the USAF along with air arms of India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and the Europe-based multilateral organization Heavy Airlift Wing. The type played a key logistical role during both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, as well as in providing humanitarian aid in the aftermath of various natural disasters, including the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Sindh floods and the recent 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake.

00:00 United States Air Force – 222 C-17s in service as of January 2018(157 Active, 47 Air National Guard, 18 Air Force Reserve)

00:38 Royal Australian Air Force – 8 C-17A ERs in service as of Jan 2018

01:24 Royal Air Force – 8 C-17A ERs in use as of Jan. 2018

04:35 NATO - The multi-nation Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing – 3 C-17s in service as of Jan. 2018, including 1 C-17 contributed by the USAF; based at Pápa Air Base, Hungary.

05:18 United Arab Emirates Air Force – 8 C-17As in operation as of Jan. 2018

07:33 Kuwait Air Force – 2 C-17s as of Jan. 2018

09:54 Royal Canadian Air Force – 5 CC-177 (C-17A ER) aircraft in use as of Jan. 2018

11:12 Indian Air Force – 11 C-17s as of Aug. 2019

14:42 Qatar Emiri Air Force – 8 C-17As in use as of Jan. 2018

[andre.westcoastbestcoast]

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[colinrobinson]

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[e.chambers]

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