Air Force’s C-5M Super Galaxy aids in removal, destruction of $5 billion worth of illegal drugs
By Cristina Stassis
Jul 9, 2026, 01:34 PM
A U.S. Air Force airlift wing executed the largest-recorded aerial transport of around 50 metric tons of lethal narcotics for destruction.
433rd Airlift Wing Reserve airmen, alongside Drug Enforcement Administration personnel, used the force’s largest and heaviest aircraft to remove 23 pallets with an estimated value of $5 billion over the course of three days in Operation Burnout, according to a Tuesday release.
In mid-May, the wing airlifted the narcotics using a C-5M Super Galaxy from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, ahead of its transport to an incinerator facility in Indiana to be destroyed.
The release did not state which narcotic, or narcotics, was seized but did point out that this operation supported the DEA’s goals to protect American committees by keeping illegal substances such as fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine off the streets.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/07/09/air-forces-c-5m-super-galaxy-aids-in-removal-destruction-of-5-billion-worth-of-illegal-drugs/
