Article Posted on : - May 11, 2011

C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. Photo: Boeing.

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (BNS): Boeing Tuesday delivered the first of six C-17 Globemaster III airlifters to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence during a ceremony at the company’s final assembly facility in Long Beach.

Designed to carry troops and heavy military equipment like armoured vehicles and tanks, the huge aircraft has taken on an increasing role in delivering food, water, medicine and other aid to disaster zones across the globe.

The UAE will take delivery of three more C-17s this year and two in 2012 as it modernizes its airlift capabilities.

"The C-17’s advanced capabilities, high reliability, and mission readiness rate met all of our requirements," Maj. Gen. Staff Pilot Mohammed bin Suwaidan Saeed Al Qamzi, UAE Air Force and Air Defence commander, was quoted as saying in a company news release.

According to Boeing, there are currently 231 C-17s in service worldwide operated by 21 international customers, including four with the RAAF.

As a member of the worldwide C-17 “virtual fleet,” the UAE’s C-17s will be supported through Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, a proven multinational Performance-Based Logistics programme. Through the virtual fleet concept, C-17 customers receive comprehensive worldwide logistics support (spares, support equipment, tech orders, sustaining engineering, and on-site field teams) through use of shared resources across the entire C-17 fleet, the report added.

The C-17 can transport large payloads across vast ranges without refueling, land on short, austere runways, and operate in extremely hot and cold climates. With a full payload of 170,000 pounds, a C-17 can fly 2,400 nautical miles and land in 3,000 feet or less.