Above: In continuous production

longer than any other military

aircraft, the Hercules remains

the world’s best-known military

airlifter. Here, ‘Roller 31’, a

C-130H3 of the Nevada Air

National Guard’s 192nd Airlift

Squadron, gets down low in one of

the many canyons in California’s

high desert. Jamie Hunter

86 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Column

Airlif t

Commander’s Update Briefing

irlift units are all too often

the unsung heroes of

air forces, moving ‘stuff’

and people in huge quantities,

over long distances, in double-

quick time. They are perceived

as the least risky end of military

operations, although recent rotary

missions in Iraq and Afghanistan

have been anything but.

Perhaps counterintuitively,

these less manoeuvrable and

unprotected (although both of

these labels are increasingly

becoming out of date) aircraft

are usually the rst in to an

operational theatre, and almost

certainly the last ones out. They

also carry out resupply and

sustainment during the many

months or years in between.

Of course, this capability is

equally valuable in supporting

humanitarian missions, where —

assuming an operational airstrip

(and a bit of gravel, sand or dust

will do) can be found nearby —

aircraft bring in vital supplies

quickly, and, as was the case in the

Caribbean last year, even airlift in

the helicopters that can then take

it even closer to those in need.

Afghan lifeline

With the recent preponderance

of deployed, global operations,

military air transport eets

have grown in number and

size. In particular, the remote

and inaccessible geography of

Afghanistan made airlift by far

the most reliable, safest and

quickest form of transport for

almost anything. Flying large

land combat and engineering

vehicles and equipment in and out

became commonplace and the

largest aircraft in the eets moved

signicant tonnage over the length

of the main campaign period.

At its peak, Camp Bastion aireld

in Helmand was handling the

same number of air movements

as London’s Gatwick Airport per

day, and the cessation of major

operations saw Royal Air Force

transport aircraft moving equipment

and supplies equivalent to the size

of the Berlin Airlift. Quite simply, the

scale of modern airlift operations

has entered another realm.

Airlift comes in all shapes and

sizes in order to full a wide range

of roles and tasks. In basic terms

it is often described as strategic or

tactical, but while these denitions

worked for many years, technology

has now blurred the lines

between them and the platforms

Last month, Air Power

Association president

Air Marshal (Ret’d)

Greg Bagwell CB CBE

looked at air refuelling,

the lifeblood of air

operations. This month

he turns his attention

to the ‘muscle’ that

sustains every aspect

of military campaigns.

A