Lockheed delivers third production C-5

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MARIETTA, Ga., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The third production C-5M Super Galaxy has been delivered to the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin.

The sixth C-5M overall to be delivered to the Air Force, the aircraft will undergo internal paint restoration at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York before traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Lockheed Martin said it is on contract to modernize 52 C-5s, including 49 B, two C and one A-model aircraft through the Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program.

The program incorporates more than 70 changes and upgrades, including newer, quieter General Electric engines that increase fuel efficiency by 10 percent over engines in legacy models of the plane.

The Super Galaxy is the United States' premier global direct-delivery weapon system and the only strategic airlifter capable of linking the homeland directly to the warfighter in all theaters of combat without refueling.

The C-5M recently delivered 3,300 tons of helicopters to Afghanistan with a mission capable rate of nearly 90 percent.

The C-5M's demonstrated improvements in performance and efficiency validate the value to the taxpayer of modernizing proven and viable aircraft. The C-5 can carry twice the cargo of other strategic airlift systems and is the only strategic airlifter capable of carrying 100 percent of certified air-transportable cargo.