Rising Global Temps Could Cut C-17 Payloads, New Study Warns
Sept. 8, 2023 | By David Roza
A new research paper published in an Air Force academic journal predicts that warming air temperatures driven by climate change could reduce the amount of cargo a C-17 Globemaster III transport jet can carry by 8.5 percent across much of the world by 2039, and by 29.3 percent year-round by 2099 in the worst-case scenario.
That means the C-17, a core component of the U.S. military’s strategic airlift capability, would not be able to fly as many troops, supplies, and equipment to respond to conflicts or humanitarian missions as quickly as it can today. Moving the same amount of cargo would require more flights, more maintenance, more gas, a higher bill for taxpayers, and a longer wait for troops and civilians in need of support.
Even if the worst-case predictions do not come to pass, the Department of Defense “should expect to sustain dramatic performance degradation to all aviation assets, most clearly evidenced by the decreasing thrust production that mandates reduced takeoff weight in strategic airlift platforms,” according to the paper, which ran in the summer 2023 edition of Air & Space Operations Review, published by the Air Force’s Air University Press.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-c-17-climate-change/
