Military Cargo Aircraft

Images of large military cargo planes, including C-141 and C-17 models, in various preparation and operational contexts, highlighting their roles in humanitarian and military missions.

E-3 Awacs in flight

A head on view of a C-141 Starlifter from the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston AFB, S.C., as it taxis at Moi International Airport during Operation SUPPORT HOPE. The aircraft is delivering relief cargo bound for Goma, Zaire to help the Rwandan refugees. Subject Operation/Series: SUPPORT HOPE Base: Mombasa Country: Kenya (KEN)

A C-17 Globemaster III prepares to take off from the flightline during preparations for Hurricane Ian at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, Sept. 28, 2022. The base routinely relocates aircraft prior to extreme weather conditions in order to continue the rapid global mobility mission and to avoid potential damage.

Teams peform Orion Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) loading operations on July 22, 2013 in preparation for the July 24 parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

A C-130J Super Hercules from the 136th Airlift Wing, Texas Air National Guard, touches down after participating in a two-ship formation flight, October 21, 2022, at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The completion of the flight marked 200,000 class A mishap-free flying hours for the wing since 1965.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An Air Force C-17 cargo plane arrives on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the space agency's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8.The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

3/4 Right front view of a C-141B taxing on the runway. Subject Operation/Series: TANZANIA AIRLIFT Base: Mwanza Country: United Republic Of Tanzania (TZA)

E-3 Awacs in flight

DN-SC-87-02811. Country: Unknown

overhead Military Jets Fixed Wing Boeing Aviat Airplanes C-17A Globemaster III transport sky USAF U.S. Air Force

An aerial front view of a USAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. From AIRMAN Magazine's August 1995 issue article "Flying the Hump". Base: Howard Air Force Base Country: Panama (PAN)

E-3 Sentry (AWACS) aircraft.

A left side view of the seventh of eight Globemaster C-17s as it taxis for take-off to Saudi Arabia with a full payload of Early Warning Radar Equipment. Subject Operation/Series: VIGILANT SENTINEL Base: Langley Air Force Base State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

ILA-Flugschau mit Airbus A400M military Cargo Berlin, Brandenburg / Germany - June 7th 2024: ILA air show with Airbus A400M military Cargo Copyright: xZoonar.com/StefanxDinsex 22557522

A C-5 transport aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). The satellite will be offloaded and transported to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The first C-17 Globemaster III, tail 5105, assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing touches down on Stewart International Airport's runway July 18.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sits on the flight line at Travis Air Force Base, California, Sept. 23, 2022. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23 - 25, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Haiti.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sits on the flight line at Travis Air Force Base, California, Sept. 23, 2022. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23 - 25, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Haiti.

A 437th Airlift Wing C-17 Globemaster III performs a flyover during the Titans of Flight Air Expo, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, April 9, 2022. The airshow pays tribute to air power from the earliest U.S. military inventory to modern day aircraft.

Raid 70 takes off Aug. 4 for the final time from Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. Raid 70s departure to Kadena Air Base, Japan, marks the beginning of the KC-135 Stratotanker close-out at Grand Forks AFB. The 319th Air Refueling Wing has 11 tankers remaining and the last one is scheduled to depart in December.

KC-135R Stratotanker, serial number 60-0329, arrived at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on April 30, 2022 to become a part of the museums permanent collection at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The jet was delivered from the 154th Hawaii Air National Guard Wing. In 1967, the crew of this tanker was awarded the MacKay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year after it refueled six U.S. Navy aircraft that were dangerously low on fuel. The flight included a brief tri-level refueling two of the Navy aircraft and additional refueling of two Air Force fighters. The Stratotanker will be on display in the museums Air Park in July.

A right rear view of a C-5 Galaxy from the 436th Air Wing, Dover AFB, DE, parked on the ramp at Moi International Airport. Subject Operation/Series: SUPPORT HOPE Base: Mombasa Country: Kenya (KEN)

DN-SC-87-05606. Country: Unknown

C-130 Hercules from the Austrian Air Force refueling.

030813-M-7837W-032. Base: Camp Snoopy, Doha Country: Qatar (QAT)

The C-17 West Coast Demonstration Team takes off in a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 62d Airlift Wing at the Experimental Aircraft Association Airventure Air Show, Oshkosh, Wis., July 28, 2022. EAA is the largest annual air show in the U.S. and coined as The Worlds Greatest Aviation celebration.

An-12 transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force, Kubinka, Russia.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer flies over a B-52H Stratofortess November 6, 2022, at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 307th Bomb Wing is the only wing in the Air Force flying two bomber platforms.

A front view of an RC-135 Stratoliner aircraft of the 306th Strategic Wing in flight. Country: Europe

A C-5A Galaxy aircraft with European camouflage parked on the flight line. Base: Rhein-Main Air Base Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

German Air Force A400M transport plane, Manching, Germany.

Airbus Type A400M military cargo plane landing at Berlin-Schoenefeld Airport, International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, Europe

A C-5 transport aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). The satellite will be offloaded and transported to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft of Russian Air Force landing, Kubinka, Russia.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A C-17 aircraft carrying the MAVEN spacecraft stops on the Shuttle Landing Facility parking apron at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aircraft is delivering MAVEN for processing ahead of a launch later this year on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, will orbit Mars to study the Red Planet's upper atmosphere in unprecedented detail.

A KC-135 Stratotanker taxis in after a flight at Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 24, 2014. The aircraft completed the final refueling mission over Afghanistan from the TCM.

A CC-150T from the Royal Canadian Air Force taxies out of Eindohven Air Base, the Netherlands.

New Zealand, Otago, Wanaka, Warbirds Over Wanaka, Boeing C17 Globemaster

A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 911th Airlift Wing sits on the flight line at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 2024. The C-17 aircraft is used to transport cargo and personnel in support of a variety of Department of Defense missions around the world. Air Force

Brazilian Air Force C-130 Hercules.

Cargo plane at Belle Chase in Louisiana

A C-130J-30 Hercules of the Italian Air Force.

Medium shot. A heavily laden C-5 Galaxy lifts off as it departs for Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, United Kingdom, as they assist in the re-deployment from Air Force Base Hoedspruit, South Africa. US Forces were deployed to southern Africa as part of Operation Atlas Response, a humantiarian relief mission in South Africa and Mozambique. Subject Operation/Series: ATLAS RESPONSE Base: Hoedspruit Air Force Base Country: South Africa (ZAF)

A left rear view of a B-52 Stratofortress as it takes off for the first launch of a Harpoon missile from this type of aircraft. Base: Mather Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Stuttgart Airfield, Germany - The German Air Force C-160D Transall aircraft in flight.

A P-3C Orion aircraft stands on the flight line during PACEX '89. Subject Operation/Series: PACEX '89 Base: Coast Guard Station, Kodiak State: Alaska (AK) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A C-5 Super Galaxy aircraft assigned to the 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, is shown on the flight line at MacDill AFB, Florida, Dec. 12, 2022. The C-5 is a strategic transport aircraft utilized by Air Mobility Command and is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory. The aircraft can carry oversized cargo over intercontinental ranges and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways.

Air-to-air, high, front view of a 60th Airlift Wing C-141B Starlifter airlifter flying over the northern California terrain. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Base: Travis Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Air to Air view of a 314th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, C-130 Hercules flying over the Arkansas River west of the city of Little Rock. Exact Date Shot Unknown. State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

040918-F-6565E-002. Base: Duluth State: Minnesota (MN) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A T-33 Shooting Star aircraft of the 95th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron (95th FITS) banks into a right turn over the Florida coast on a flight from its home at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The 95th FITS, which is the last active T-33 squadron,. State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A C-141C Starlifter rolls down the runway for departure from Christchurch, New Zealand, to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Military airlift provides the transport of passengers and cargo during Operation DEEP FREEZE 2001. Subject Operation/Series: DEEP FREEZE 2001 Base: Christchurch State: Canterbury Country: New Zealand (NZL) Scene Major Command Shown: AMC

A Fleet Logistic Support Squadron 48 (VR-48) EC-130T Hercules aircraft taxis down the flight line. Base: Naval Air Facility, Andrews Afb State: Maryland (MD) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A KC-10 Extender is parked on the ramp as a C-5M Super Galaxy takes off at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., March 16, 2017.

A KC-135R tanker at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

IL-76TD 7T-WIU transport aircraft of Algeria Air Force taxiing, Czech Republic.

C-27J Spartan transport aircraft taxiing at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France.

Military Jets Fixed Wing Boeing Aviat KC-135 Stratotanker grey runway

041015-F-9429S-012. Base: Grand Forks Air Force Base State: North Dakota (ND) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Chinese Air Force IL-76 taking off.

An Air Mobility Command, C-141 Starlifter from the 22nd Airlift Squadron, Travis AFB, California on the ramp at Addis Ababa international Airport in support of multinational aid to Rwandan refugees. Subject Operation/Series: SUPPORT HOPE Base: Addis Ababa Country: Ethiopia (ETH)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility. It is carrying the New Horizons spacecraft, as well as other equipment. After it is unloaded, the spacecraft will be transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. New Horizons is designed to help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a 'double planet' and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

A KC-390 tanker transport aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force.

A C-17 Globemaster III transporting Desert Lightning Team members returns from a deployment at an undisclosed location at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, Oct. 17, 2022. The members returned home to their families after a deployment overseas.

060329-N-9999X-001. Base: Waco State: Texas (TX) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An air-to-air right side view of a C-141B Starlifter aircraft, with the new Euro-1 paint scheme, during a practice mission for Volant Rodeo '83. State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

041016-F-9429S-014. Base: Alpena State: Michigan (MI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

C-5A Operational Utility Evaluation Test - A left front view of a C-5A Galaxy aircraft taxiing in the dirt during an operational utility evaluation test. Base: Shaw Air Force Base State: South Carolina (SC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System 8 drops another load of Phoschek onto the Rattlesnake Fire in Southern Arizona. State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DN-SC-04-09518. State: Nevada (NV) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) equipped C-130J Super Hercules Aircraft assigned to the California Air National Guards 146th Airlift Wing takes off from Boise Tanker Base, Idaho, September 10, 2022. Two crews from the 146th Airlift Wing and Nevadas 152nd Airlift Wing dropped a total of 11,556 gallons of retardant on a fire in Oregon on September 10, 2022.

USA, Arkansas, Jacksonville, C-130 Hercules take-off sequence

Right front view of a Russian IL-38 May anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol aircraft parked on the tarmac. Base: Naval Air Station, Jacksonville State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Multiple B-52H Stratofortresses sit parked on the flight line on Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, Aug. 8, 2022. The B-52 Bomber has been in service since February of 1955.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130H taking off, New Zealand.

A KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing departs from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022. All tanker aircraft at MacDill were evacuated in response to the anticipated effects of Hurricane Ian.

An air-to-air front view of two S-3A Viking aircraft flying in formation. Country: Unknown

U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster of the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Two C-5B Galaxy aircraft from the 436th Military Airlift Wing roll down a taxiway prior to departing on a personnel and equipment airdrop mission. The U.S. Air Force Airlift Center is conducting tests to certify the airdrop, formation-flying and low-level flight capabilities of Galaxy aircraft. Earlier tests were suspended in 1973 when wing-strength problems were discovered in Galaxy aircraft. Base: Pope Air Force Base State: North Carolina (NC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An air-to-air front view of a C-17 Globemaster III from the 17th Airlift Squadron, 437th Air Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina as it flies along the coast. Base: Charleston State: South Carolina (SC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The last C-130H Hercules prepares to depart from the 179th Airlift Wing at Mansfield Lahm ANGB, Ohio, July 7, 2022. This aircraft, tail 88-4401, will retire and become a static display at the MAPS Air Museum (Military Aviation Preservation Society), an internationally known museum of aviation in North Canton, Ohio. After being selected to become the nation's first Air National Guard Cyber Wing, the unit is transitioning from flying the C-130H Hercules to a new mission assigned to Air Combat Command.

IL-76MD transport airplane of the Russian Air Force on the runway at Tver-Migalovo Air Base, Russia.

People's Liberation Army Air Force H-6K strategic bomber.

A People's Liberation Army Air Force H-6K strategic bomber plane.

Head on view of a Russian IL-38 May anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol aircraft parked on the tarmac. Base: Naval Air Station, Jacksonville State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Nine LC130s with the 109th Airlift Wing conducted the units first ever Elephant Walk on September 10th 2022. An elephant walk is a United States Air Force term for thetaxiing of military aircraft in close formation; often employed to project air power through the rapid deployment of multiple aircraft at once.

High dynamic range image of a U

Ten C-130 Hercules aircraft taxi on a runway during a large formation mission Oct. 22, 2013, at Yokota Air Base, Japan. The C-130s flew toward the Aomori region, testing Yokota ABs capability to launch aircraft and assist anywhere in the Western Pacific region.

A 3/4 right front medium view of a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy as it lands and taxis at Howard AFB. The aircraft is bringing in materials and personnel for the operation. Subject Operation/Series: SAFE HAVEN Base: Howard Air Force Base Country: Panama (PAN)

Turkish Air Force C-130E departs Hohn Air Base, Germany.

A C-5M Super Galaxy taxis down the flight line prior to a wet wing defuel at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, June 28, 2023. Airmen from the 9th Airlift Squadron and the 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron petroleum, oil and lubricant flight performed the first C-5M Super Galaxy wet wing defuel, utilizing four R-11 fuel trucks simultaneously.

low angle Prop Northrop Grumman Military Grumman Fixed Wing Aviat Airplanes E-2 Hawkeye grey jet blast deflector aircraft carrier

Military logistics aircraft on runway at Luqa airfield in Malta

Military logistics aircraft takes off from Luqa airfield in Malta

The first KC-10 Extender ever produced arrives at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, April 26, 2022. The aircraft was officially retired following a short ceremony and will become part of the Air Mobility Command museum.

A U.S. Air Force KC-46A Pegasus taxies off the runway at Travis Air Force Base, California, April 12, 2022. Ten KC-46A Pegasus tankers and eight KC-135RT Stratotankers were relocated to Travis AFB from McConnell AFB as a precaution due to the possibility of severe weather impacting the Wichita area.

An air-to-air left side view of a re-engined KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft on its maiden flight. The new engines are the CFM56 high bypass tubofan. Base: Mcconnell Air Force Base State: Kansas (KS) Country: United States Of America (USA)

H-6K strategic bomber of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III assigned to McChord Air Force Base Air base in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington performs a fly-by during Wings Over Solano open house at Travis Air Force Base, California, May 14, 2022. The Wings Over Solano open house and air show offered the local community the opportunity to interact directly with the base and its Airmen to see the capabilities of Travis AFB on full display.

A KC-390 of the Brazilian Air Force taxiing at Natal Air Force Base, Brazil.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- This U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III lands at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility carrying the Phoenix spacecraft. The Phoenix mission is the first project in NASA's first openly competed program of Mars Scout missions. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. It will serve as NASA's first exploration of a potential modern habitat on Mars and open the door to a renewed search for carbon-bearing compounds, last attempted with NASAs Viking missions in the 1970s. A stereo color camera and a weather station will study the surrounding environment while the other instruments check excavated soil samples for water, organic che

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