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Mobility leadership emphasizes need for more airlift

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- Air Mobility Command planners say the Air Force's strategic airlifters are doing a tremendous job in supporting the global war on terrorism, but more aircraft are still needed to meet long-term U.S. defense needs. And to meet those needs, officials say the Air Force must increase its inventory of the C-17 Globemaster III and modernize the C-5 Galaxy.

AMC's director of plans and programs, Maj. Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, said airlift capability falls short of the minimum Defense Department requirements set in comprehensive two-year study of the Defense Transportation System, called Mobility Requirements Study-2005.

The study, which began in 1998, focused on what DoD needs based on the 2005 military force structure. The report considered major theater war, special operations, and non-warfighting requirements among other criteria.

The study concluded the minimum strategic airlift requirement at 54.5 million ton miles per day by active, reserve component and commercial airliners in the Civil Reserve Airlift Fleet. Today's capability lies between 45 and 46 million ton miles per day.

The "MTM/D" is a commonly accepted transportation industry measure of capacity to push cargo in tons, through a distance in miles in a period of time with a given fleet of vehicles.

One million ton miles per day would be the equivalent of loading 14 Greyhound buses aboard C-5s and flying them from Washington, D.C., to Germany in one day.

Lichte said the new mobility demands for homeland defense and the global war on terrorism, when combined with the requirements from MRS-05, could very well cause an increase to the 54.5 benchmark; however, that amount is yet to be determined.

"Since 9-11," the general said, "we have been tasked very heavily, and we are doing a lot more than we've ever done before in the airlift business."

According to U.S. Transportation Command figures, Operation Enduring Freedom airlift missions as of March 4 have totaled more than 2,900. Air Force C-17s accounted for 47 percent of the missions and C-5s, 29 percent. Other military and commercial aircraft flew the remaining missions. The missions moved nearly 46,000 passengers, and approximately 90,000 tons of cargo. Aircrews have flown more than 70,000 hours.

To sustain OEF operations, approximately 1,500 channel missions accounted for the movement of nearly 15,000 passengers and more than 27,000 tons of cargo.

From October through December, AMC aircraft delivered 2.5 million humanitarian daily rations, 816 tons of wheat and 73,000 blankets to Afghanistan.

The challenge for AMC's planners is determine how to match AMC's capabilities with defense airlift requirements. "We're looking to fill the gap with more C-17s and modernized C-5s," said Col. Michael Fricano, chief of the Studies and Analysis Division of AMC's Plans and Programs Directorate.

"This year Congress approved procurement of 60 more C-17s, which brings the total number of C-17s to 180, the minimum number just to meet the initial requirements of MRS-05. But, as we continue to learn the lessons of operations like Allied Force and Enduring Freedom, we see a need for at least 222," he said.

Fricano said both the C-5 and the C-17 are necessary to meet airlift requirements. "We need a mix of both airframes," he said. "The Galaxy can move more cargo over longer distances than the C-17. The C-5 opens at both ends, and can 'kneel' for greater ease and speed in getting cargo and vehicles off the aircraft. The C-17 is a versatile heavy lifter that can provide direct delivery of people and cargo because it can land on short and unimproved runways. We have to look at C-5 enhancements and buy more C-17s to improve our overall capability."

Fricano added that while C-17 reliability remains at or near the Air Force wartime standards, C-5 reliability has fallen well short of requirements, which is why C-5 modernization is necessary. Programs planned for the C-5 include avionics modernization and re-engining.

"The numbers and models of C-5s to undergo modernization will depend on the success of the testing program. It will be fiscal year 2005 or 2006 before results are known, with modernization of the fleet beginning in 2007 and beyond. The success of the C-5 modernization programs will ultimately determine the number of additional C-17s we'll need to meet requirements," said Fricano.

(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

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