C-17 is a heavy-lift, strategic transport capable of direct tactical delivery of all classes of military cargo.
It is the U.S. military’s core airlift asset, capable of operating on small, austere airfields (3,500 ft by 90 ft) previously limited to C-130s. It is the only aircraft able to directly deliver or airdrop outsize cargo into a tactical environment, and it is the first military transport to feature fully digital, fly-by-wire control.
Boeing delivered the 223rd and final USAF aircraft on Sept. 12, 2013, and the final international aircraft on Nov. 29, 2015. The C-17 fleet was heavily tasked evacuating U.S. and allied personnel from Afghanistan during Operation Allies Refuge, including carrying a record-breaking 823 passengers on a single flight on Aug. 15, 2021.
Major Block 20 upgrades included some 60 programs to bring early production aircraft to a common configuration, and the most recent Block 21 including Mode 5 IFF and airspace compliance were completed fleetwide in 2020. FY24 continues fleetwide HUD replacement through FY28, and begins install of enhanced high-bandwidth BLOS voice/data SATCOMS.
Ongoing upgrades also include next-generation Large Aircraft Infrared Counter-measures (LAIRCM) to combat man-portable air defenses, as well as safety and sustainment mods. The Roll-on/Roll-off Conference Capsule to replace the “Silver Bullet” for in-flight conferencing is currently finishing testing and integration.
This year launches Flight Deck Replacement development which will introduce an easily upgradable modular cockpit infrastructure. The C-17 fleet is currently the largest consumer of jet fuel in the inventory. USAF awarded Pratt & Whitney a $55 billion contract add in 2023, to upgrade the fleet’s F117 engines to improve fuel efficiency and increase maintenance intervals by 2027.
Contractor: Boeing (previously McDonnell Douglas).
First Flight: Sept. 15, 1991.
Delivered: June 1993-September 2013.
IOC: Jan. 17, 1995.
Production: 257.
Inventory: 222.
Operator: AETC, AMC, PACAF, ANG, AFRC.
Aircraft Location: Altus AFB, Okla.; Dover AFB, Del.; JB Charleston, S.C.; JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; JB Lewis-McChord, Wash.; JB McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst, N.J.; JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; March ARB, Calif.; Pittsburgh Arpt., Pa.; Travis AFB, Calif.; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and ANG in Hawaii (associate), Mississippi, North Carolina, West Virginia, and New York.
Active Variant: •C-17A. Long-range airlifter.
Dimensions: Span 169.8 ft, length 174 ft, height 55.1 ft.
Weight: Max T-O 585,000 lb.
Power Plant: Four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans, each 40,440 lb thrust.
Performance: Speed 518 mph at 25,000 ft, range 2,760 miles with 169,000 lb payload (farther with air refueling)
Ceiling: 45,000 ft.
Accommodation: Two pilots, loadmaster; AE crew: Two flight nurses, three medical technicians (mission dependent).
Load: 102 troops/paratroopers; 36 litter and 54 ambulatory patients; 18 pallets up to max payload 170,900 lb.