Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
The strategic lift that reaches Ladakh.
About the III
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) during the 1980s and the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. The C-17 is based upon the YC-15, a smaller prototype airlifter designed during the 1970s.
Service history
India ordered ten C-17s in 2011 and an eleventh in 2019, making it the largest operator outside the US Air Force. The type transformed Indian airlift: it can put 70 tonnes into a short, unpaved strip, and flew the bulk of the sustainment into eastern Ladakh during the 2020 standoff as well as evacuation flights from Kabul in 2021 and Sudan in 2023.
Combat edge
70-tonne payload into semi-prepared strips
Largest operator outside the US Air Force
Sustained the 2020 Ladakh deployment
Flew evacuations from Kabul and Sudan
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