Lockheed Martin completed C-5M upgrade and redelivered the 23rd Super Galaxy airlifter from its facility at Marietta Georgia on Nov. 4, the company announced. The former C-5B, tail number 87-0034, was ferried to Stewart ANGB, N.Y., for interior refit and trim work before delivery to its operational unit at Travis AFB, Calif., states the release. Dover AFB, Del., received its 18th and final Super Galaxy this spring, and the latest airframe will be the fifth C-5M slated for Travis, according to the company. The Air Force awarded Lockheed a follow-on contract early this summer to upgrade several more C-5s with new avionics, engine, and reliability improvement to bring the Super Galaxy fleet to a total of 52 converted airframes.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
