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Say Hello To The C-5M It's cheaper... more capable, and more dependable. That's what Lockheed-Martin says about the latest generation of C-5 Galaxy transports, the first of which was shown off at the company's plant in Marietta, GA this week. Lockheed reports the C-5M "Super Galaxy", a modernized version of the venerable C-5, features new engines and new avionics. Its GE CF-6 engines -- developed in the commercial sector -- are capable of 22-percent more thrust, resulting in a 30-percent shorter takeoff roll and a 38-percent faster climb to initial altitude. Perhaps even more importantly... the Super Galaxy can carry...

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - To about 1,000 Warner Robins Air Logistics Center workers, the vision of the future includes 112 C-5 aircraft bristling with state-of-the-art guidance, navigation and communications systems, new engines and more than 70 modifications to the airframe and subcomponents. That possibility seemed more like a pipe dream a few years ago as airlift advocates called for mothballing at least 60 C-5s - the older "A" models - in favor of buying more C-17s, the newest of the Air Force transports. But the vision seems a little less murky today, although major hurdles remain before it becomes...