UK's RAF receives its 7th C-17 Globemaster III
The C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, built by Boeing, will be deployed in the coming weeks for global humanitarian and military missions.
"The addition of a seventh C-17 to our fleet is a significant milestone that strengthens our support of operations worldwide, especially in Afghanistan," Peter Luff, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, was quoted as saying in a Boeing news release.
The United Kingdom's fleet of C-17s has logged more than 60000 flight hours, and this year supported humanitarian and disaster-relief missions to Pakistan, Haiti and Chile.
Assigned to 99 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton near Oxford, C-17s provide critical airlift capability for the nation’s Joint Rapid Reaction Force.
Brize Norton is the RAF's main operating base for strategic air transport and air-to-air refueling.
The C-17 is the world's only tactical airlift aircraft with strategic capabilities that allow it to fly between continents and land on short, austere runways.
