The Flexible C-17 Globemaster III has Impressive STOL Capabilities
Published on: July 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Darrick Leiker
In a cloud of dust, a C-17 from the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, leaves the runway at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, during the Mobility Air Exercise.(Image credit: United States Air Force/Airman 1st Class Brett Clashman)
Proving to be one of the most flexible transport aircraft in United States Air Force history, the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III provides improved airlift capabilities close to battlefields, humanitarian missions, and peacekeeping operations, with the ability to operate from austere airfields in remote areas.
C-17 Origins
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a program in December 1979, known as the Cargo-Experimental (C-X) competition, as a means of finding a new strategic airlift aircraft that was jet-powered. Other requirements included a rear loading large-volume cargo compartment that could accommodate tracked and wheeled vehicles, the capability of airdropping troops and necessary cargo loads directly into a combat zone, and possessing STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capabilities.
Proving to be one of the most flexible transport aircraft in United States Air Force history, the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III provides improved airlift capabilities close to battlefields, humanitarian missions, and peacekeeping operations, with the ability to operate from austere airfields in remote areas.
Impressive STOL Performance
McDonnell Douglas had developed a prototype known as the YC-15 for the United States Air Force (USAF) in a competition known as the Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) to replace the Lockheed C-130. The completion, however, was cancelled, but the basic design of the YC-15 would be redesigned to a larger version with swept wings and more powerful engines. This new aircraft would compete in the C-X program to replace the aging Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, whose origins dated back to the early 1960s.
https://theaviationist.com/2025/07/13/c-17-globemaster-iii-impressive-stol/
