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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:13:53 PM EDT
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 Australia to Spend Up to $1.5 Bn on 4 C-17s (updated) Posted 07-Mar-2006 07:13 The Australian government has just announced that the Australian Defence Forces will acquire up to 4 new Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift planes and associated equipment for A$ 2 billion ($1.49 billion at today's conversion). The first aircraft will be delivered to Australia later in 2006, with the balance of the fleet to be delivered by mid 2008. The C-17 was in competition with the Airbus A400M to become Australia's next-generation trasnport aircraft.... Airbus A400M While the A400M's flyaway price tag of USD$ 100 million or so would be approximately half that of a C-17 in return for about half the payload and two-thirds of the cargo volume, M1 tanks would not be transportable in an A400M, and the Long Beach Press-Telegram quotes industry observers who said it was the C-17's ability to tote Australia's M1 Abrams tanks and CH-47 Chinook helicopters that won over the Australian government. As a secondary consideration, the A400M lacks even a test model and would not have been available sooner than 2009 at the very earliest. Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 lb (77,500 kg), and its maximum gross takeoff weight is 585,000 lb (265,350 kg). With a payload of 160,000 lb (72,600 kg) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 ft (8,500 m), the C-17 has an unrefueled range of 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km). The C-17 is designed to operate from runways as short as 3,000 ft (900 m) and as narrow as 90 ft (27 m). In addition, the C-17 can operate out of unpaved, unimproved runways (although this is rarely done due to the increased possibility of damage to the aircraft). The thrust reversers can be used to back the aircraft and reverse direction on narrow taxiways using a three-point (or in some cases, multi-point) turn maneuver. The C-17 is designed to airdrop up to 102 paratroopers and equipment. In Australian terms, it ca also can carry one 60-ton M1 Abrams tank, as well as loads ranging from 5 Bushmaster infantry vehicles to 3 Tiger reconnaissance/attack helicopters. Australia now joins the USA and Britain as operators of the C-17 Globemaster III. The ministerial release did not specify, but its wording and known cost figures for the C-17 suggest that the $372.5 million per aircraft amount represents unit procurement cost. If so, this would include the aircraft purchase price plus procurement costs, initial spare parts, maintenance equipment, basing alternations, technical data et. al. The timing is fortuitous for Boeing, as C-17 production is expected to shut down in 2008 and each new C-17 aircraft ordered reportedly extends Boeing's C-17 line by 3 weeks. Nevertheless, as Copley News Service explains, Boeing is slightly ahead of schedule and will be able to deliver the additional four aircraft without affecting its timelines for closure. The US Air Force has listed obtaining 7 more C-17s as its top unfunded requirement, however, and this could buy enough time to extend C-17 production into early 2009 while Boeing hunts for more orders. Many of these deals also come with maintenance support provisions, and the C-17 comes with an established model in the C-17 http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/03/australia-to-spend-up-to-15-bn-on-4-c17s-updated/index.php |
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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:25:11 PM EDT
[#1]
Are the Brits planning to buy any A400Ms?
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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:37:08 PM EDT
[#2]
25 along with a few more C-17's ANdy |
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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:53:43 PM EDT
[#3]
Nice. The A400M has a larger max payload than I thought: C-130J - 41,790 lb A400M - 81,500 lb C-17 - 170,900 lb As an aside, won't it be a pisser if the US picks the A330 as our next refueling platform? 
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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:56:48 PM EDT
[#4]
Damn thats an expensive plane... for a frieghter? damn thats up there in Fighter $$$
What does a C-130 cost? |
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Posted: 3/6/2006 11:59:23 PM EDT
[#5]
better be about 25% of the c-17, if those hauling weights are correct. |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:27:11 AM EDT
[#6]
Make it 10%, C-130 is turboprop. |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:31:22 AM EDT
[#7]
Is this a buy? Or is it really a lease like the RAF did?
Not that we care, the more out there the merrier. |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:31:24 AM EDT
[#8]
Googling puts the C-130J at about I'd like to see operating costs. How much does it cost a C-130J to move, say, 20,000lbs 2000 miles, versus the same for a C-17. C-130J: $48.5 million (FY98 constant dollars) C-17: $236.7 million (FY98 constant dollars) |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:31:38 AM EDT
[#9]
Ok according to FAS.org
C-130 Costs 22.9M (92') |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:51:46 AM EDT
[#10]
RAF bought out the lease and purchased it's C-17's outright along with another new build. ANdy |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 12:56:15 AM EDT
[#11]
We've desperatly needed a strategic airlifter for years. Those old B707s just don't cut it anymore, and we've be wearing out our herks much faster than originally thought, especially with the Timor deployment.
Its about time 
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Posted: 3/7/2006 1:31:29 AM EDT
[#12]
I wouldn't say those 707's were 'old' but the guys Grandads flew to war in Vietnam in them…  |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 1:47:58 AM EDT
[#13]
Some of them (all?) bought second hand of various airlines! Because of noise problems, they're banned from most Australian and international airports, and they cant carry heavy cargo. Sure, they're spring chickens by BUFF standards, but they make just about anything look young . BTW, most of the Australian troops went to Vietnam by boat. They sailed on the converted Majestic class carrier HMAS Sydney, which became known as the "Vung Tau Ferry" |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 2:26:47 AM EDT
[#14]
Watch 'The Odd Angry Shot'…  ANdy |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 2:37:25 AM EDT
[#15]
Cool. Another new build? A single new build or another batch of 4? |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 2:58:50 AM EDT
[#16]
RAF bought the existing 4, plus bought one new build. They are looking to buy another 2 if they can find the money. They would like 12 in total. Given the choice, the RAF have said they would cancel the 25 A-400's the .Gov has commited them to and buy C-17's instead. ANdy |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 3:04:37 AM EDT
[#17]
The 17 is an uberkool jet. The best all-around airlifter in the world. There is not another airplane that can compete directly with it.
The lads in the 99 Squadron have been flying the daylights out of theirs. I was at Brize Norton when UK1 and UK2 were delivered. UK2 was picked up at Long Beach and flown to Charleston, where they crew rested. Then is was flown from Charleston to Brize. When it landed at Brize they refueled it, checked the oil, did a thruflight, then put on a new crew to fly a local. It didn't even have time to get cold. The A400M is like a C-130 on steroids, but it's not fair to compare it to the C-17. They're in totally diffreent classes. Airbus hasn't built an A400M yet, have they? |
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Posted: 3/7/2006 3:09:06 AM EDT
[#18]
As I recally, they had a mockup of the A400m at the Paris airshow a decade ago. It was still a jet at that point, and the mockup weighed so much that, had the engines been real, it wouldnt have gotten off the ground.
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Posted: 3/7/2006 3:13:02 AM EDT
[#19]
... Right on!
... First time I've heard this proposal was even in the works. |
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