[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE C-17 HAS PROVEN THAT IT IS THE BEST

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                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 1995

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, this November, the U.S. Air Force will reach 
its final decision on future procurement to fulfill its air transport 
needs for the next century. I welcome the continued support that most 
of you have shown for the C-17 in the past. For those who still 
question, I urge you to look at the C-17 in light of what it has 
proven.
  The C-17 performs 22 missions and is the choice of the Air Force, 
Army, and Department of Defense while also providing a vital complement 
to naval transport. The C-17 is performing above and beyond what it was 
designed to do and has earned the support of these bodies.
  How did the C-17 earn this support? By performance. Beginning on July 
5, the C-17 engaged in the most extensive evaluation of a major 
program. In that test, it laid to rest the arguments of critics who had 
questioned its ability to perform. In 4 weeks of testing, the C-17 
proved, in the words of Gen. Robert Rutherford, Commander of the Air 
Mobility Command, that it ``truly is the most reliable, most 
maintainable and most versatile airlifter in the world today.'' I 
enclose additional information for the Record that discusses the 
outstanding achievement of the C-17. This plane has evolved to be the 
performer it is today, and will continue to meet the many needs of our 
country well into the next century. Whether it be rapid response to 
aggression around the world, meeting immediate tactical needs of our 
forces in the field, or providing transport for humanitarian 
assistance, the C-17 is the only choice.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the U.S. Air Force press release of August 5, 
1995, be included at the end of my remarks.

            C-17's Exceed Goals During Intensive Evaluation

       Charleston AFB, SC.--Twelve C-17 Globemaster III's logged 
     more than 2,250 hours and transported 11 million lbs. of 
     cargo, personnel, and equipment during an important 30-day 
     evaluation ending today.
       The Reliability, Maintainability, and Availability 
     Evaluation, or RM&AE, began July 7. Aircrews and support 
     personnel from Charleston AFB, S.C. flew and maintained the 
     high-technology airlifters for nine days of up-tempo, 
     peacetime operations, followed by a seven-day simulated 
     mulit-regional conflict airlift scenario, then 14 days of 
     return to peacetime.
       During the RM&AE, Air Force personnel exercised the C-17's 
     full spectrum of capabilities. The planes were used to 
     transport personnel, equipment and palletized cargo to and 
     from seven sites, six in the U.S. and one overseas. In 
     addition to ``air land'' missions (those transferring loads 
     at other airfields), the Globemaster III's performed 
     formation personnel airdrops, container delivery system 
     airdrops, sequential heavy equipment airdrops, small austere 
     airfield operations, short field landings, air refuelings, 
     combat offloads, semi-prepared dirt surface landings, and 
     training proficiency sorties.
       The intensive evaluation, designated to compare actual 
     aircraft performances with design requirements and goals, put 
     the aircraft through its paces in operationally realistic 
     scenarios. Launch reliability, the C-17's ``on time 
     departure'' rate for the entire 30 days, exceeded 99 percent, 
     with requirements for necessary maintenance falling well 
     below the maximum rate permitted by contract. Utilization 
     rates or Ute rates, one of the more critical performance 
     areas, easily exceeded required target rates in all areas: 
     the peacetime ute rate was 4.75 with a target rate of 3.2; 
     wartime sustained ute rate was 12.7 with a target of 10; 
     wartime surge ute rate for the first 24-hour period was 16.6 
     with a target of 15.2, the rate for the second 24-hour period 
     totalled 17.1 with a 15.2 target.
       During the month-long operation, C-17s transported 5,500 
     tons of Air Force and Army equipment and airdropped nearly 
     700,000 lbs, including two Sheridan tanks, and more than 
     3,000 paratroopers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. More 
     than 6 million lbs of fuel was offloaded to C-17s during 162 
     air refueling tanker sorties.
       In addition to verifying contract compliance, RM&AE results 
     also provided additional data to support initial operational 
     testing and an accurate forecast of how the C-17 fleet will 
     perform in future real-world operations.
       The Globemaster III, capable of carrying 169,000-lb loads 
     into airstrips as short as 3,000 feet long, demonstrated its 
     availability and ease of ``throughput'' during RM&AE. 
     (Throughput is the rate at which cargo and personnel can be 
     processed through an airfield in a given period). During the 
     week of wartime activities, C-17s transported six of the 
     Army's M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks. These enormous armored 
     vehicles, each weighing more than 125,000 lbs, were carried 
     aboard C-17s to a forward operating base in the Mojave Desert 
     of Southern California, stopping in less than 2,800 feet. 
     During the 30-day evaluation, the C-17s airlifted a total of 
     12 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 12 Bradley fighting vehicles, and 14 
     Sheridan ranks.
       The wartime phase was designed to simulate a multi-regional 
     conflict scenario, with aircraft transporting personnel and 
     equipment great distances (both eastbound and westbound) 
     allowing the C-17 to demonstrate its important strategic and 
     tactical capabilities. Nearly half of the 2,250 hours were 
     flown during this intensive seven-day wartime phase. Aircrews 
     flew nearly 17 hours per aircraft per day during a 48-hour 
     period, demonstrating the delivery capability the planes may 
     be called upon to perform during an initial deployment 
     period.
       During an actual contingency operation, Air Mobility 
     Command's new airlifter could change the way the Air Force 
     delivers equipment. In the past, equipment was flown by 
     strategic airlifter to a main operating base with a large 
     runway and a solid support structure. There the cargo was 
     transferred to smaller aircraft, usually C-130s, or taken 
     over land to its final destination.
       The C-17 eliminates these intermediate steps, saving man-
     hours and conserving support equipment, while offering the 
     Air Force an important new capability: direct delivery from 
     home base in the U.S. to remote, short field locations 
     worldwide.
       Through both peacetime operations and the week of wartime 
     deployment, the C-17 has proven it's more than capable of 
     doing the job for which it was designed. The RM&AE gave the 
     aircraft and the personnel who fly them and maintain them, an 
     opportunity to demonstrate these capabilities in an 
     operationally realistic environment.

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