LOS ANGELES, the U.S. (BulgarianMilitary.com) 06 August 2018, Editor: Stanislava Georgieva, Photo credit: YouTube

The service upgrade programme of C-5M heavy lift aircrafts, once started in 1998 by the Air Mobility Command, has come to its end on 2 August this year. It happed with the delivery of the last C-5M Super Galaxy by Lockheed Martin, to the Air Force of the U.S, learned BulgarianMilitary.com

The programme for the modernization was imposed by the Air Mobility Command , after a study conclusion showing that Vietnam War-era aircraft had remained 80% of their service life. Since then, Lockheed Martin upgraded with new engines, avionics and diagnostics systems 52 C-5 aircrafts in service of the U.S. Air Force. The mentioned upgrades will extend the operational life of the fleet out till the 2040s.

Read more: “A Complete Revolution” for the C-130Hs of Israel

The service upgrade programme included the modernization of the C-5’s engines, in particular upgrading from four General Electric TF-39 engines to General Electric F-138 engines. According to the U.S. Air Force, these new engines delivers a 22% increase in thrust, a 30% shorter take-off roll, a 58% faster climb rate.

Another specific technical feature, that the company says of the new C-5 engines, is that they are also ten times quieter and reliable and had increased range 900nm to5,250nm over their predecessors.



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Presented as the USAF largest transport aircraft, its nose and aft doors open that allows ground crews to load and off-load cargo from both ends, at the same time and thus to reduce the time for cargo transferring. It enables the carriage of double rows Humvees, due to its wide berth and drive-on ramps. The C-5 aircraft also has the capability of carrying two 78-ton M1A1 main battle tanks or helicopters as well as large equipment intercontinental distances.

U.S. Air Force stated that the delivery of the first C-5 was in 1970 and since then 128 heavy lift aircrafts, A, B, and C variations of the original were delivered up until 1989. And the aircrafts that weren’t in the upgrade schedule were retired by September 2017.

In 2009, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware received the first operational C-5M.

About Lockheed Martin (U.S.)

An international company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. It specializes in the areas of Aircraft, Energy , Maritime Systems , Missile Defense , Space , Training, Logistics & Sustainment, Weapon Systems. The company works with U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. federal government agencies and supply the U.S. armed forces with military and rotary-wing aircraft. Lockheed Martin has clients in Australia, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Turkey, U.K., United Arab Emirates, Italy, etc.

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