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The C-17 Globemaster III remains the backbone of US Air Mobility Command inter-theater transport efforts around the world, and its ability to operate from shorter and rougher runways has made it especially useful during the Global War on Terror. While the Pentagon proposes to cap production at 180 planes and a fierce fight is underway to preserve the program, various upgrades (including LAIRCM defensive systems) continue – along with heavy usage that is accumulating fatigue hours far faster than originally planned.
The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH has awarded a number of contracts under the private-public C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership (GSP) framework to perform some upgrades within the fleet. These modifications were placed with Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas under contract # FA8614-04-C-2004; several of them are covered in more depth in the Boeing Frontiers September 2005 article “Sweet 16.”
Additional background, and contracts issued during FY 2006 and beyond can now be found in DID’s FOCUS Article for the C-17 Global Sustainment Partnership.