The first production C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft has made its maiden flight, Lockheed Martin announced Tuesday. The aircraft took to the skies Sunday from Lockheed’s facility in Marietta, Ga. The company anticipates delivering this aircraft to the Air Force on Sept. 30, after which it is scheduled to assume duty in November at Dover AFB, Del., home to the three C-5Ms already in the fleet. This new C-5M is the first airframe to receive the new engines and reliability enhancements that characterize the Super Galaxy configuration on Lockheed’s production line. The previous three C-5Ms were modified when Lockheed was still developing the production line. Gen. Raymond Johns, head of Air Mobility Command, last week had high praise for the C-5M model, calling its performance to date “phenomenal” and “magnificent.” (See also Nearing a Super Milestone from the Daily Report archives.)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
