During the US retreat two years ago, an Air Force C-17 Globemaster evacuated 640 individuals from Kabul in a single flight. And so, the Air Force’s vision will be flying wings, rockets, gliders, as cargo carriers.
Even bigger than the Globemaster, the C-5M Super Galaxy can transport the presidential helicopter and motorcade in addition to any weapon in the Army’s armory.
Air Force’s Vision Outlines Next-Gen Airlift Aircraft
However, the enormous jets are outdated and no longer produced. As part of its strategy to discourage China, the Pentagon has been compelled to start looking into replacements that can fly great distances in support of US forces in the Pacific.
In a broader sense, the Air Force envisions a family of technologies that could deliver cargo to every location on Earth in a matter of minutes, including a massive new aircraft, small unmanned delivery drones, gliders, and even space rockets.
The specifications for the upcoming generation of airlift aircraft are still being outlined by Air Force authorities.
Mobility Guardian 2023, an operation spanning the Pacific this month involving 70 cargo and refueling planes and 3,000 airmen and troops, is where they are testing concepts.
The C-5, a jumbo jet-sized aircraft that first entered service in 1970, and the C-17, a member of the fleet since 1993, are currently the mainstays of the transport fleet.
The Air Force now employs about 220 C-17s, and Boeing stopped producing them in 2015. 52 C-5s are still in service despite Lockheed Martin ceasing production of them in 2002.
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Future Aircraft with Blended-Wing Body Concept
Doors on the front and back of the C-5 allow troops and supplies to be loaded and unloaded simultaneously from vast cargo bays.
It has four strong engines and high wings, just like the C-17, allowing it to take off and land on even the smallest unpaved runways.
Future options include an aircraft with a so-called blended-wing body concept, which is essentially a flying wing that substitutes a broad fuselage for the conventional tube-and-wings configuration and also provides lift.
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