The Air Force last week concluded climate testing of the C-5M Super Galaxy in the McKinley Climatic Lab in Florida. The M model is the designation given a C-5 that has received both avionics modernization program and reliability enhancement and re-engining program upgrades. The service in September alerted Congress that the RERP would break the Nunn-McCurdy threshold. However, USAF plans to continue modernizing the C-5B models, although the fate of A models, the oldest C-5s, remains a political hot potato. SSgt. Stacia Zachary reports that simply getting the mammoth airlifter into the lab was the “main challenge” for the climate testing. The lab hasn’t had a C-5 inside the test hangar since 1969 and had never before run the aircraft engines while it was inside.
B-52 Engine, Radar Upgrades Hit New Milestones
Sept. 15, 2026
The Air Force’s program to re-engine the B-52H Stratofortress has moved from its technology maturation and risk reduction phase to engineering and manufacturing development, marking a new milestone in the sweeping overhaul of the Cold War-era bomber, a top official said Sept. 15.
