After 17 years of upgrades, the Air Force's biggest plane is ready to stay in the air for decades [1/5] - C-5 2.jpg (1/1)

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Lockheed Martin said earlier this month that the last of 52 upgraded C-5M Super
Galaxy cargo planes had been delivered to the Air Force, finishing the nearly
two-decade-long modernization of the service's largest plane.

Lockheed began work on the Air Force's Reliability and Re-engineering Program
(RERP) in 2001 and turned over the first operational C-5M Super Galaxy, as the
latest version is called, on February 9, 2009.

In the 17 years since the RERP effort started, 49 C-5Bs, two C-5Cs, and one C-5A
were upgraded, according to a Lockheed release, first cited by Air Force Times.
The upgrades extend the aircraft's service life into the 2040s, the contractor
said.

The program involved 70 modifications to improve the plane's reliability,
efficiency, maintainability, and availability, including changes to the
airframe; environmental, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems; landing gear, and
flight controls.

The main new feature is more powerful engines, upgraded from four General
Electric TF-39 engines to General Electric F-138 engines. The new engines, which
are also quieter, allow the C-5M to haul more cargo with less room needed for
takeoff.

"With the capability inherent in the C-5M, the Super Galaxy is more efficient
and more reliable, and better able to do its job of truly global strategic
airlift," Patricia Pagan, a senior program manager at Lockheed, said in the
release.

All together, the RERP upgrades yield "a 22 percent increase in thrust, a
shorter takeoff roll; [and] a 58 percent improvement in climb rate," according
to release, which said the modifications give the C-5M greater fuel efficiency
and reduce its need for tanker support.

The C-5 stands 65 feet high with a length of 247 feet and a 223-foot wingspan.
The upgraded C-5M can haul 120,000 pounds of cargo more than 5,500 miles - the
distance from Dover Air Force base in Delaware to Incirlik airbase in Turkey -
without refueling. Without cargo, that range jumps to more than 8,000 miles.

The plane can carry up to 36 standard pallets and 81 troops at the same time or
a wide variety of gear, including tanks, helicopters, submarines, equipment, and
food and emergency supplies.

The first C-5A was delivered to the Air Force in 1970. By 1989, 50 C-5Bs had
joined the 76 C-5As that were already in service. Two C-5Cs, modified to carry
the space shuttle's large cargo container, were also delivered in 1989.

The Air Force began a C-5 modernization push in 1998, starting the RERP in 2001
with plans to deliver 52 upgraded planes by fiscal year 2018. The remainder of
the C-5 fleet was to be retired by September 2017.

But the C-5 fleet has face administrative and operational issues in recent
years.

Due to budget sequestration, a number of C-5s were moved to backup status in
over the past few years, meaning the Air Force still had the aircraft but no
personnel or funding to operate them. In early 2017, Air Force officials said
they wanted to move at least eight C-5s from backup status to active status.

"I need them back because there's real-world things that we've got to move, and
they give me that … added assurance capability," then-Air Mobility Commander
Gen. Carlton Everhart said at the time.

In the months since, the Air Force's C-5s have encountered maintenance issues
that required stand-downs.



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