C_A_M_2015_05_

(Ben Green) #1
for AMP were shifted to the RERP, which is on
track to increase the mission-capable rate
(MCR) of the Galaxy fl eet by at least 25 per
cent over the C-5A and 15 per cent over the
C-5B. The RERP-equipped C-5Ms are expected
to exceed the 75 per cent MCR required by the
contract.
The project also installs the Northrop
Grumman AN/AAQ-24 Large Aircraft
Infra-Red Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system
on the C-5M. Although testing was completed
in 2007, the fi rst production LAIRCM
installation was completed in July 2011.
According to the USAF, during a recent
mission in Afghanistan, two RERP-modifi ed
C-5Ms were able to match the performance of
seven un-modifi ed Galaxies. During these
missions the seven unmodifi ed aircraft fl ew 23
sorties, moving approximately 1.6 million
pounds of cargo. Due largely to their increased
reliability, two C-5Ms fl ew 22 missions and
moved over two million pounds of cargo.
On October 12, 2004 the fi rst production
aircraft modifi ed under AMP was completed
and delivered to Lockheed Martin to enter
RERP. Serial 86-0013 was subsequently
inducted for RERP modifi cations at the
contractor’s Marietta facility on October 22,


  1. The fi rst C-5M was formally unveiled on
    May 16, 2006 and the aircraft conducted its
    maiden fl ight on June 19. Modifi cations to
    C-5M test aircraft serial 86-0025 began in
    January 2005; it fi rst fl ew on November 16.
    Serial 69-0024 entered the modifi cation line in
    September 2005 and the third C-5M prototype


Since the Galaxy  rst  ew in 1968, six aircraft, comprising  ve C-5As and a single C-5B, have
been written o in mishaps. Whereas two aircraft were destroyed by  re on the ground,
three were written o in crashes. The only C-5B loss occurred at Dover AFB when an aircraft
crashed during an emergency landing. Its  ight deck was later salvaged and used to support
the construction of a training device.

LOSSES


Fiscal Year No. Lot No.
— 3 SDD
2008 1 LRIP 1
2009 3 LRIP 2
2010 5 LRIP 3
2011 7 LRIP 4
2012 11 FRP 5
2013 11 FRP 6
2014 11 FRP 7

Above: Emergency crews on the scene of the C5M PRODUCTION
C-5B crash at Dover AFB on April 3, 2006.
USAF/Doug Curran
Left: The vast scale of the C-5 is readily
apparent in this shot from the boom
window of a tanker as the aircraft moves in
for fuel. Tanker pilots say that they can feel
the bow wave of the Galaxy as it moves in
behind to take on fuel.
USAF/MSgt Lance Cheung
Bottom left: The  rst instrumented  ight
test C-5M seen during trials from Edwards
AFB. USAF

C-5M detail
Clockwise from below: The modernized
‘glass’ cockpit installed under the C-5M
Avionics Modernization Program (AMP).
USAF
The Reliability Enhancement and
Re-engining Program (RERP) adds new
General Electric CF6-80C2 (CF6-80C2L1F)
engines to the C-5M. USAF

A C-5M lumbers into the air following
upgrade at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta
plant. Lockheed Martin/Thinh D. Nguyen

http://www.combataircraft.net May 2015 75

70-77 AMC Part 1- C5 C.indd 75 20/03/2015 11:16

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