This Is The Largest Aircraft Operated By The US Military

This Is The Largest Aircraft Operated By The US Military What can the C-5 do that other USAF heavies cannot? “In short, the C-5 can carry the most cargo the furthest. Its max weight is 840,000 pounds. It can carry the most cargo of any US airlifter. Last fall, as part of a retrograde operation to bring cargo and equipment out of Afghanistan, each C-5 was setting record payloads, with the heaviest being 280,880 pounds. Overall 25.5 million pounds of cargo and 447 passengers were moved on 152 missions. One C-5 mission can take the place of up to five C-17 missions, depending on what the cargo is. It can carry 100,000 pounds of cargo 5,000 miles without refueling, for example, from Dover to Turkey, or from Germany to Alaska. It has twice the pallet positions of the C-17, 36 to 18, and supposedly due to the gear configuration and weight distribution, has a lighter footprint at above the max weight compared to a C-17. The C-5 typically cruises at .77 Mach, the C-17 at .74 and with the C-5M’s new engines it’s quieter. The C-5 can carry outsize cargo from pallets to vehicles that would not fit in any other jet. In addition to cargo, we can always carry passengers in the troop compartment above the cargo compartment in airline-like seats. This makes it easier to carry equipment and their operators. For example, we bring home Marine helicopters with the maintenance crew. It can carry two M1 Abrams main battle tanks if required, or six Apaches. The “C” models are modified for space lift support and carry satellites; a loadmaster has proudly shown me pictures of the loading and moving of a section of the James Webb space telescope in a specialized huge climate controlled box.