미군 수송사령부 사령관, C-5와 C-17 후속기 개발 시작을 요청

[위종민]

미군 수송사령부 사령관 랜달 리드 공군대장이 3월 25일 미하원 군사위원회에서 C-5와 C-17을 대체할 신형 수송시 개발 사업을 시작할 때가 됐다고 발언했네요. 

C-17은 미공군에서 항공유를 가장 많이 퍼먹는 항공기이고, 연료 소비를 줄이기 위해 2023년 55억 달러 규모의 엔진 업그레이드 계약을 P & W와 체결했었네요. C-5는 2018년 임무 준비율을 55%로 늘리기 위해 엔진과 애비오닉스 개량을 포함한 100억 달러 규모의 개량을 수행했습니다. 

‘Time is Now’ to Look at New Airlifter: TRANSCOM Boss

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‘Time is Now’ to Look at New Airlifter: TRANSCOM Boss

March 26, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The head of the U.S. Transportation doesn’t want to wait to start planning on a new airlifter to replace both the C-5 and C-17 fleets, which serve as the command’s “workhorses.”

“The issue with the C-17 is, while it performs well, a lot of folks think that it’s new, and it’s not a new plane, and so we will continue to use it and stress it,” Air Force Gen. Randall Reed said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on March 25. “And, because it takes such a long time to build the next plane, the time is now to start looking at the next one.”

The C-5, the Air Force’s biggest aircraft, can carry up to 285,000 pounds, while the C-17 can haul 170,000 pounds and is more capable of operating from smaller, austere runways ideal for contested environments. TRANSCOM relies heavily on these aircraft to move oversized cargo, personnel, and supplies worldwide, supporting everything from combat to humanitarian operations. Reed noted they “require investment” to ensure sustainability.

Both fleets face challenges; the C-17 guzzles the most jet fuel in the service. The Air Force tapped Pratt & Whitney for a $5.5 billion engine upgrade in 2023, aiming for better fuel efficiency and longer maintenance intervals by 2027. The C-5 fleet underwent a $10 billion upgrade in 2018, including engine and avionics improvements, with the goal of driving its mission capable rate above 55 percent. However, despite initial success, the fleet’s readiness has since declined.

Air Force officials have spoken about a Next-Generation Airlift platform, or NGAL, but it is not an official program in the service budget and work on it remains preliminary at this point.

Gen. John D. Lamontagne, Air Mobility Command chief, recently speculated that a potential NGAL platform must be stealthy and capable of performing more missions than just transporting people and cargo. AMC is currently conducting a capabilities-based assessment focused on cargo capacity, range, survivability, and connectivity.

“We want to figure out what those next requirements look like before we fly the wings off the C-17,” Lamontagne said at AFA Warfare Symposium earlier this month. “There’s a healthy amount of life left in the C-17, but we want to stay in front of that.”

Tankers

Reed also highlighted the need to recapitalize the Air Force tanker fleet—a concern he raised with senators at a hearing earlier this month.

“The concerns that I have is that we continue to [re-capitalize] that fleet without a break,” said Reed. “The KC-135s that we have are aging, and as they continue to age, it’s harder to find the parts. Once we actually find the parts, and we begin to fix the airplanes, it takes longer, so the faster that we can continue to replace those planes is key.”

Air Force Gen. Randall Reed, U.S. Transportation Command Chief, testifies at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on March. 25. Screenshot.

The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46 Pegasus aircraft to replace about half of the current KC-135 fleet. But the average age of the remaining Stratotankers will be 67 by the time the Air Force accepts the last KC-46. Lamontagne has suggested a service life extension program may be necessary.

The KC-46, meanwhile, “does have some challenges,” Reed said—an acknowledgement of its glaring deficiencies that have slowed progress and performance.

Deliveries of the KC-46 are suspended while Boeing investigates cracks in the outboard wing trailing edge. So far, 11 of 50 inspected KC-46s have shown cracks, with 39 more to be inspected in the next two weeks. Repairs are expected to proceed swiftly once the cause is determined.

However the timeline for resuming deliveries remains unclear, as most of the other, more chronic deficiencies with the KC-46 are still being worked on, according to Lamontagne.

[백선호]

1970-80년대의 보잉 757용 엔진을 가져다 FOD 견디고 역추진도 하게 해서 4개 단 것이니 기름은 좀 많이 먹을 것 같네요.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_PW2000

[위종민]

757도 슬슬 역사 속으로 사라지려고 하는 중이니 새 엔진으로 갈아끼워야 될 때가 되긴 했네요. 효율좋은 터보팬 엔진들도 많이 나왔고요.

[ssn688]

엔진 4개면 이미 연비에서 지고 들어가는 건데, 아무래도 군용은 생존성 때문에라도 고집하겠죠? AWIN에서 출처를 못 찾고 기억에 의존합니다만, C-17급 수송기 4발 엔진는 4만+ lb급이어야 하는데... 요즘은 757 같은 어중간(?)한 기체가 없고 항속거리가 늘어난 협동체-더욱 커진 광동체로 양극화되면서, 개발사업에서 베이스로 쓸 4만+의 적당한 상용 엔진이 없다는 게 곤란하다는 지적이 있었습니다.

[위종민]

737MAX나 320 NEO에 달린 LEAP나 PW1000G는 4만이 안되고, 그 이상은 5만~6만으로 올라가네요. PW4000 출력을 줄여서 달려나... 이 물건도 꽤나 오래된 엔진인데요.

[Black Knights (윤재산)]

17이 엔진4개인건 안정성도 있지만 blownflap 효과를 통해서 전술수송기에 준하는 이착륙성능을 얻으려하다보니 그렇게 된것도 있습니다