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2,360 Trips To The Moon For The C-17 Globemaster Fleet
The worldwide fleet of Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifters reached a flight milestone by surpassing 2 million flying hours -- equivalent to 1.13 billion nautical miles, equivalent to a C-17 flying to the moon and back 2,360 times -- during an airdrop mission over Afghanistan earlier this month in a Long Beach-build aircraft.
The mission readiness rate of a C-17 is more than 85 percent according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram and it's the world's only "strategic airlifter with tactical capabilities that allow it to fly between continents, land on short, austere runways, and airdrop supplies precisely where they are needed." The fleet, now in its 17th year, has 226 airlifters in service around the world aiding in humanitarian and disaster-relief missions.
Due to the recent troop surge in Afghanistan and natural disasters in Chile, Pakistans and Haiti, the 2 million flight-hours milestone was reportedly reached less than five years after reaching the 1 million flight-hours milestone.
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