No other air force in the world comes close to the USAF’s ability to move loads of crap anywhere in the world really fast. Even when there isn’t a runway available, they get the job done. Need a squad of Humvees dumped on an X on a map? They can make that happen, and they almost make it look easy.
The C-17 continues to be the backbone of America’s strategic transport force. It’s versatile, reliable, and we have a lot of them. As you can see in this video, a single Globemaster III (AKA the Moose) can hold eight palletized Humvees and has no problem kicking them out the rear ramp in two big strings.
Here’s the Humvee’s view of a similar exercise, albeit one with a captive audience!
It’s all about access, getting our troops and their equipment into a position to wreak havoc on the enemy, and vertical envelopment makes that happen regardless of nearby supporting infrastructure.
This ability to break into the enemy’s backyard and set up shop is exercised during Joint Forcible Entry exercises where the Air Force’s heavy lifters and those they support train to do just that. Beyond their training value, they also remind America’s potential enemies that the Pentagon can put almost anywhere within their borders at risk, even under the most challenging of conditions.
Contact the author Tyler@thedrive.com