Flight testing of the C-5M Galaxy, which wrapped up in August, showed about a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and a takeoff reliability of 82-85 percent, Lockheed Martin mobility programs VP Jim Grant said Wednesday. The C-5M is the product both of the Avionics Modernization Program and the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program. The requirement for full production of the RERP is to achieve 75 percent takeoff reliability, and Grant said the flight tests offered encouragement that the goal will be met. Operational test and evaluation formally starts next summer, but crews will start operating with the C-5M to get familiar with it as early as February, he said. Three C-5s have been reconfigured as C-5Ms—two “B” models and one “A” model. The Air Force decided earlier this year to only perform the RERP on the B fleet, but Grant said he thinks ongoing mobility evaluations may call for retaining all the Galaxys for the long term. The schedule for installing the RERP—assuming it is approved—begins in Fiscal 2010 and wraps up in 2016.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
