The Air Force took delivery of its 14th C-5M Super Galaxy airlifter, announced prime contractor Lockheed Martin. An Air Force crew flew this airplane, tail number 86-0017, on Dec. 5 from the company’s manufacturing facility in Marietta, Ga., to Stewart ANGB, N.Y., where it will undergo internal paint restoration, according to the company’s release. From there, the C-5M will move to Dover AFB, Del., where it will serve with the 436th Airlift Wing, which operates a C-5 force there, along with Air Force Reserve Command’s 512th AW. This is the second C-5M that has joined the fleet in the past several weeks; the previous one, tail number 85-0004, arrived at Dover on Nov. 21. In all, Lockheed Martin is upgrading 52 C-5s to the Super Galaxy standard. This configuration includes new engines and numerous reliability and performance enhancements, along with new cockpit avionics. All 52 C-5Ms are expected in the fleet by 2017, according to the company.
As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.