Alex Walters
The US Air Force has carried out what is says is the largest C-17 launch ever from a single base as it filled the skies with 24 Globemaster III tactical airlift aircraft in a matter of minutes.
Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina said it launched the Globemaster IIIs to demonstrate the wing's ability to rapidly project overwhelming airpower, alongside joint partners.
In what the air force calls a "mission generation exercise", the impressive display integrated US Air Force (USAF), US Army, and US Marine Corps forces across five operating locations.
Together, there were about 3,300 tons of aircraft in the air with enough airlift power to carry more than 2,000 paratroopers or significant quantities of cargo such as M1 Abrams tanks, armoured vehicles or heavy weapons.
"Air Mobility Command is the meaningful manoeuvre for the joint force, and our asymmetric advantage is our adaptable, talented airmen," said US Major General Corey Martin, 18th Air Force commander.
"Every day, we are learning new lessons that we want to apply in combat, so this mission-generation exercise is a chance to test our capabilities at a tempo and scale that approximates combat operations," he added.
The C-17s began the exercise with a 'show-of-force' flight over the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston Harbor and then dispersed to sharpen four of their core capabilities: command and control, navigation, tempo, and logistics under fire.
Across southeastern USA, they dropped paratroopers, refuelled Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters on the ground and distributed heavy weapons and communication systems at multiple landing sites.
"We have to fight to get to the fight," said US Colonel Robert Lankford, 437th Airlift Wing commander.
"This exercise tests our ability to accomplish the mission, while geographically dispersed and with limited communications", he added.
C-17 pilot and lead planner for the exercise, US Major Zachary Barry said the exercise was about "readiness and lethality".
"We wanted to get as many aircraft as possible off the deck in a 48-hour timespan, to tell pacing threats that we can go anywhere, anytime," he added.
According to the USAF, nearly 60 aircraft, including an E-3 Sentry and KC-135 Stratotankers, were in the air, synchronising capabilities to maximise lethality.
Airmen also experimented with command-and-control equipment that provided information for aircrews to increase their battlespace awareness in a contested environment. "This is a historic exercise for us because we need to be able to fight tonight," Maj Barry said.
"We need to be ready to answer the call, no matter what."
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