Small Airlifters Are Becoming A Big Priority For The U.S. Air Force

armed forces personnel and aircraft

A shift to distributed operations across the Pacific Ocean is spurring the Air Force to look for airlifters smaller than the Lockheed Martin C-130.

Credit: Master Sgt. Caila Arahood/U.S. Air Force
A new type of military airlifter is rising to the top of the U.S. Air Force’s list of modernization priorities: small, autonomous, electric-powered aircraft capable of short takeoffs and landings—and numbering in the hundreds. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is in the market research phase for the...
Steve Trimble

Steve covers military aviation, missiles and space for the Aviation Week Network, based in Washington DC.

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