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Just for the sake of discussion—what if Boeing wasn’t a bloated, risk-averse, demoralized shell of its former self? What if, instead of sitting on its legacy platforms, it unleashed its brightest minds in a modern Skunk Works to reimagine the greatest military cargo plane ever built—the C-17 Globemaster III—for the 21st century? Let’s call it the C-47X Dominator. This isn’t a leak. It’s not sourced. It’s just a thought experiment. But imagine: Re-engineering the C-17 with new-generation LEAP or GEnx engines Using advanced composites to lighten the frame Swapping out hardened battlefield tech that’s no longer needed in civilian ops...

A total of four C-17s and C-130s will be used to fly migrants in detention out of the United States.

This week, Vice-President Kamala Harris tried desperately to get the attention of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding Hurricane Milton, calling him "utterly irresponsible and selfish" for not taking her call. "All I was trying to do was help coordinate his relief efforts." DeSantis said "we are already leveraging all available resources. I've been in contact with President Biden to coordinate state and federal efforts to mitigate damage and to rescue people stranded by the storm. I'm not sure how Vice-President Harris figures into this. Isn't she busy running for president right now?" Biden confirmed that "I have been communicating with...

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is back in the United States in an attempt to rally more support for his country's defensive war against Russia. But while his past visits have largely remained standard fare for foreign dignitaries (aside from his refusal to wear anything but olive drab), this latest trip has Republicans justifiably crying foul. [snip] Zelensky arrived in Pennsylvania on Monday, a hotly-contested election battleground state, courtesy of a U.S. taxpayer-funded C-17 Globemaster. What followed looked and sounded much more like a campaign stop than a diplomatic event, leaving onlookers to wonder exactly what the real purpose was. The day...

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that human remains were found inside the wheel well of a C-17 military plane that had been swarmed by hundreds of people on the tarmac as it took off at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The discovery was made upon landing at al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. [snip] Air operations were suspended for hours at the airport Monday because of the crush of Afghan civilians desperate to leave Kabul. [snip] "OSI is leading the review in coordination with the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command and international partners since it...

NOW - People seen holding on to a plane as it prepares to take off from Kabul Airport, where at least 3 people fell to their death. https://twitter.com/ThorDeplorable/status/1427251455933698051

Caption -- Donald Trump and PM Modi at the G-20 Summit, PTI The United States is not going to put pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets or any other defence system, a senior US diplomat has said here. United States Consul General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said India has purchased more than USD 15 billion worth of American defence materials and the US is "very proud" of the expanding defence ties between the two countries. Asked if there was a threat of the US imposing trade sanctions on India after its multi-billion deal with Russia for the S-400...

After 68 years in the aerospace industry, and having a hand in producing every single C-17 in the Air Force’s inventory, an original Rosie the Riveter got her first flight in one on Monday. Elinor Otto, 98, took to the skies in a C-17 she riveted at March ARB, Calif., in a ceremonial flight flown by Air Mobility Command head Gen. Carlton Everhart. “You are a true inspiration,” Everhart said. “In the day and age where quicker, faster, more is the goal, and job hopping is the norm, it’s inspiring to hear a story about hard work and dedication that...

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force appears to have taken too long to push through a Rs 8,100 crore proposal to buy three new Boeing C-17 transport aircraft. The American manufacturer simply does not have that many aircraft to sell anymore, having pledged four of the last five C-17s in its production line to Qatar. After months of efforts, the air force, at a Services Capital Acquisition Plan meeting on July 31, managed to push through the proposal to add three aircraft to its existing fleet of 10 Boeing C-17s that were ordered in 2011. Officials said the proposal is...

The U.S. military sent a giant C-17 cargo plane to an air show in China this week as a way to strengthen its relationship with the People’s Liberation Army there, despite fears among security and policy experts that doing so puts American technology secrets in jeopardy and also risks angering an important Asia ally. The decision to send a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III to the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition at the Zhuhai Jinwan airport starting Tuesday is fraught for a number of reasons, defense and security officials told Defense One, noting that President Barack Obama’s arrival in the...

Inside a cavernous assembly line in El Segundo, Northrop Grumman employees build the center aft fuselage and vertical tail — everything behind the pilot except the wings — for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Roughly 900 local Northrop employees help build this plane, the Navy’s workhorse fighter jet that has seen action in such theaters as Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, Northrop and prime contractor Boeing have delivered more than 2,100 planes, including earlier versions and an electronic warfare variant. However, those Northrop employees and thousands more throughout California and nationwide face the prospect of an end to the Super Hornet...

Algerian Military Testing An A330 MRTT at Boufarik (Source: Le Matin DZ; published May 13, 2013) (Published in French; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com) Just weeks after the C17 evaluation that took place in Boufarik and the air force test center at Tamanrasset, an Airbus A330 MRTT tanker landed last week at the main air transport base in Boufarik. According to the “secret difa3” blog, the Algerian Air Force is in the process of finalizing a contract to acquire three A330 aircraft to reinforce its tanker and long-range transport fleet. Besides their ability to refuel in-flight fighter and attack aircraft, the...

China's First Heavy Transporter Y-20 Takes Off The prototype of China's first indigenously-developed heavy transport aircraft, Y-20, takes off from an unidentified airport for its first test flight Saturday afternoon, January 26, 2013. [Photo: Xinhua] China began test flights Saturday for the prototype of its first indigenously-developed heavy transport aircraft, Y-20, a craft similar in size to the Russian IL-76 and somewhat smaller than the U.S. C-17. The plane took off at around 2:00pm from an airport in Yanliang, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to CCTV News. The Y-20 program is part of an effort to develop an indigenous long-range...

India-bound Boeing C-17 leaves Long Beach, heads to Palmdale for flight test AVIATION: Ten of the Long Beach-built C-17s were sold for $4.1 billion. LONG BEACH - The first of 10 Boeing Co. C-17 Globemaster III airlifters bound for India flew out of the company's East Long Beach assembly plant this week and headed to Palmdale, where it will enter a U.S. Air Force flight test program at Edwards Air Force Base, according to Boeing. "The C-17 met the stipulated airlift requirements of the Indian Air Force when it flew field evaluation trials in India during June 2010," Air Commodore...

Limited Liftoff Looming: Y-20 Transport Prepares for 1st Test Flight While China's stealth aircraft prototypes may get all the buzz, the Y-20 offers new military operational possibilities. In 2011 and 2012, China flight-tested stealth fighter prototypes developed by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (J-20) and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (J-31). In 2013, Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC) will look to get into the new aircraft game by flight-testing a prototype of the Y-20, an indigenously-developed large transport aircraft similar in size to the Russian IL-76 and somewhat smaller than the U.S. C-17. The Y-20 program is part of an effort to develop an indigenous...

C-17 shows it's stuff after landing at wrong airport...(Peter Knight, Tampa)....."missed McDill by this much"..(holding up thumb and index) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuqsd_tRHw&feature=relmfu

link only - Gannet

TAMPA -- Update: The plane took off from Peter O. Knight Airport about 8:30 p.m. Stay with TBO.com for updates. *** Air Force officials are trying to figure out why an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet heading to MacDill Air Force Base instead landed at Peter O. Knight Airport this afternoon. The plane, flown by a crew from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire Air Force Basee in New Jersey, was arriving from Southwest Asia carrying 23 passengers and 19 crew when it made an "unscheduled landing," according to Sgt David Carbajal, a McGuire spokesman. There appears...

Air Force Cargo Jet Lands at Wrong, Smaller, Airport TAMPA | A military cargo plane that typically requires 3,500 feet for takeoff landed unexpectedly Friday at Peter O. Knight Airport, where the longest runway is 95 feet short. Work began immediately to lighten the load of the 174-foot-long aircraft so that it might leave Davis Islands safely. The drama ended at 8:27 p.m., when the C-17 Globemaster III took a hop over Hillsborough Bay to MacDill, the original destination. It landed just a few minutes later. It was unclear why the plane, headed to MacDill, made an unscheduled landing at...

Boeing Looks Afar for New C-17 Jet Sales As U.S. Demand for Military-Cargo Plane Wanes, Aircraft Maker Hopes Mideast, Asian Buyers Will Fill the Gap BA -0.34%Boeing Co., BA -0.34%racing to drum up sales of its C-17 to avoid shutting down production of the military-cargo plane, believes new orders may emerge in coming months from the Middle East or Asia, a senior executive said. "Our hope is that future sales occur [in those regions] this year," Bob Ciesla, program manager for the C-17 Globemaster III, said in an interview this week. Mr. Ciesla declined to discuss specific countries that may...