The 13th C-5 Galaxy landed in Marietta, Ga., for transformation into a Super Galaxy on the modification line at Lockheed Martin’s aircraft plant there, announced the company. This airplane, serial number 87-0036, is the second C-5B from Travis AFB, Calif., to enter the modification line, according to the company’s June 14 release. The company inducted the aircraft on the previous day. Workers at the plant will fit this C-5 with new high-bypass turbofan engines and roughly 70 key physical upgrades under the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program. The aircraft already has an upgraded cockpit with new glass-panel displays and digital flight controls. When it emerges from the RERP line, the airplane will be in the new C-5M configuration. It is slated for delivery to Dover AFB, Del., in 2013 after the upgrade is complete, according to Lockheed Martin. Overall, this is the 16th of 52 C-5s meant to undergo the RERP modification and conversion to a C-5M. Lockheed completed the first three airplanes for RERP testing before the modification line was in place.
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.