A Standard C-17

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Ray Johns said Tuesday that his command will seek to bring all its C-17s up to the current production-line standard, the Block 18. Johns told reporters attending AFA’s Air & Space Conference that this will vastly simplify the process of assigning C-17s to missions, since they will all have similar capabilities in range and other performance. Early aircraft will get the extended-range fuel tanks, new computers, and other improved features now standard and planned for the 222nd and last USAF C-17. Johns said the C-17 has a 30,000-hour service life, and, once the fleet has been brought up to the Block 18 standard, AMC will begin to explore fleetwide upgrades that might be included in a pre-planned product improvement program.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org