Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft are used by Australian forces in the Middle East Area of Operations for heavy lift capability including the movement of combat vehicles in and out of theatres of operation as well as large freight items.
The C-17 has a short takeoff and landing capability that is well suited to the environmental demands of Afghanistan where dirt runways such as the one at the Multinational Base in Tarin Kowt are common.
Recently a RAAF C-17 delivered two refurbished Australian Light Armored Vehicles (ASLAV) to the 1st Mentoring Task Force based in Tarin Kowt.
A number of large freight items have also been delivered with the American K-Loader getting a solid workout. The K-Loader is the American version of the Australian TASLU platform.
At 174 feet long and has a wingspan of about 170 feet, the massive cargo aircraft built by Boeing can still manage to heft 170,900 lbs. of cargo at a maximum takeoff weight of 585,000 lbs. The C-17 was designed to operate from unpaved and unimproved runways as short as 3,500 feet long and 90 feet wide.
