Closing the Military Airlift Gap

Publication Date: January 1986

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Kim R. Holmes

Research Area: Military and defense

Keywords: National security

Type: Report

Abstract:

Careful analysis by experts of U.S. airlift needs and of the C-17 program reveals that a new cargo plane is not needed to close the gap. As such, the Air Force should cancel the C-17, now in a full-scale engineering-phase of development, and instead, build more C-5B cargo and KC-10 cargo tanker aircraft. Better use, moreover, should be made of the existing fleet of C2-130 "Hercules" and C-141B "Starlifter" strategic.aircraft. Not only could this save about $20 billion, but the U.S. would have the needed planes available much sooner.