http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 87

Airlif t

‘At its peak,

Camp Bastion

airfield in Helmand

was handling the

same number of

air movements as

Gatwick Airport

per day’

Left: Members of the 904th Expeditionary Air Wing and the Joint Force

Support Unit based at Kandahar Airfi eld head back to the UK on an RAF C-17

Globemaster. After the closure of Camp Bastion in October 2014, UK personnel

left the Afghan theatre as Operation Herrick came to end. Crown Copyright

Below: British military personnel board an RAF Atlas C1 transport in Barbados,

preparing to deliver UK aid to Caribbean islands stricken by Hurricane ‘Irma’

last September. In the foreground is some of the equipment brought in by the

Atlas earlier in the day. RAF C-17s, Atlases and Voyagers all helped deliver aid

to the Caribbean region. Crown Copyright

A medium airlifter, Embraer’s KC-390

is typical of modern military transports

in its class, offering multi-mission

fl exibility and high performance –

with a cruising speed in excess of

470kts – while retaining the capability

to operate from small, austere and

semi-prepared airfi elds. The second

prototype, PT-ZNJ, is seen airdropping

cargo during a test. Sgt Batista/FAB