Lockeed Martin C-5A, C-5B, C-5M et dérivés commerciaux

Lockheed Martin Receives $344 Million in Ongoing Funding for C-5 Modernization Program

Lockheed Martin has received ongoing funding through a recently issued Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) that authorizes Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) associated with the C-5 Super Galaxy Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP).

"This funding enables us to continue to partner with the U.S. Air Force to produce enhanced C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft to support the warfighter for decades to come," said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin C-5 program vice president. "The C-5M Super Galaxy is redefining strategic airlift and delivers unparalleled support to all U.S. armed forces."

The $344.3 million funding supports LRIP RERP production for 15 aircraft, including installation on three aircraft, material and fabrication for five aircraft, and long-lead funding for seven aircraft. Production of the C-5M Super Galaxy began in August 2009, when the first aircraft was inducted into the production program. This aircraft is slated for delivery to the USAF in September 2010. Three C-5Ms have already been delivered to the USAF and current USAF plans call for 52 fully-modernized C-5Ms by 2016.

The C-5M is the product of a two-phase modernization effort. The first, the ongoing Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), provides a state-of-the-art glass cockpit with modern avionics and flight instruments. The RERP is the second phase of the C-5 modernization effort. It includes 70 enhancements or replacements of major components and subsystems, including the installation of GE CF6-80C2 commercial engines. Modernization of the C-5 pays for itself through savings in operation and sustainment costs.

The C-5 has been the backbone of strategic airlift in every engagement since it entered service. It is the only aircraft capable of carrying 100 percent of certified air-transportable cargo, with a dedicated passenger compartment enabling commanders to have troops and their equipment arrive in an area of operation simultaneously. The C-5 can carry twice the cargo of other strategic airlift systems. With more than 70 percent of its structural service life remaining, the C-5M Super Galaxy will be a force multiplier through 2040.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

Lockheed Martin officials say the U.S. Air Force has declared the newly re-engined C-5, the C-5M, is “effective, suitable and mission capable,” following a series of operational tests.

This rating would be a step toward clearing the aircraft for operational use. Air Force officials declined to discuss their initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) findings because they haven’t yet been briefed to Congress.

The release of the IOT&E report will be a major step forward for the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program, which has suffered setbacks, including fitful funding and swelling cost. RERP was designed to dramatically improve C-5 reliability, which had for years hovered between 50-60 percent.

The first C-5 is on the re-engining production line at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga., facility. Company officials say they have proven an 81.6 percent mission capable rate with three test versions of the C-5M. All 111 C-5s are undergoing an avionics modernization program in preparation for RERP, but only one of the 59 C-5As in the fleet are expected to get the RERP upgrade (it was one of the test versions).

The operational tests phase included several real-world type scenarios. One of them was a simulated 30-day surge, said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin C-5 program executive, during last month’s Air Force Assn. conference. This is the kind of operation that takes place when a humanitarian crisis pops up.

Operational testing began in October and ended in early January. The Air Force plans to field 52 RERP kits by 2016.

An official Air Force report is expected in about one month, according to service officials.

Upgrades To Giant C-5 Galaxy Airlifter Greatly Increase Performance & Reliability

The U.S. Air Force currently operates two types of jet-powered cargo planes capable of traveling intercontinental distances: the giant C-5 Galaxy and the smaller but more nimble C-17 Globemaster III. There are 111 Galaxies in the fleet, and the service plans to own a total of 222 Globemasters when production is completed. No other nation has anything remotely approaching the reach or carrying capacity of the U.S. airlift fleet. But the C-17 has lately been the darling of the fleet while the C-5, although capable of carrying far more cargo, has been something of an embarrassment. The main reason why was that the C-5 was equipped with aged, under-powered engines that caused chronic reliability problems. It wasn't hard to convince Congress that additional C-17s needed to be bought, because C-5s were out of service so much of the time.

Now that looks likely to change, thanks to a series of upgrades that will transform many Galaxies into a vastly improved "M" variant. The C-5M is so much better than earlier "A" and "B" versions that it's almost as though the Air Force has bought a new plane:

-- Carrying 45 tons of cargo, the C-5M can fly 900 nautical miles farther than earlier versions of the Galaxy without refueling, and 2100 nautical miles farther than a C-17.

-- Carrying the same load to a destination 4,200 nm distant, a C-5M requires only 5400 feet of runway to get airborne, compared to 6300 feet for an earlier Galaxy and 7800 feet for a C-17.

-- If filled to make maximum use of its cargo capacity, a C-5M can transport twice as much cargo as a C-17 -- six troop carriers versus three, 36 pallets versus 18 -- while flying 50 percent farther.

-- When moving comparable loads, C-5Ms cost 35 percent less than C-17s to carry a pallet of cargo a given distance, and consume 40 percent less fuel -- while generating considerably less greenhouse gases.

Of course, the C-17 has important virtues too, such as the ability to back up on the ground using thrust reversers and land in some places where C-5s do not fly. But after a year of testing three pre-production models of the upgraded C-5M, a delighted Air Force is beginning to realize that its ugly duckling may now be as good or better than the C-17 swan in many measures of performance. In March, the Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center in Georgia rated the C-5M as "effective, suitable and mission-capable" -- adjectives that didn't used to be applied to the Galaxy very often. Although the program to modernize the plane's electronics and engines ran into some cost problems, it looks likely the improvements will pay for themselves through greater productivity, improved fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance costs.

There's a lot of talk these days about bolstering the efficiency of the military, with much of the discussion focusing on process improvements where progress is hard to measure. But the Air Force's C-5M program offers a different, more concrete path to achieving big savings. A plane that once spent much of its time in hangers awaiting repairs will now be highly mission-capable, and unlike other strategic airlifters will be able to fly straight from the East Coast to the Middle East without having to refuel -- producing huge savings in logistics costs. The Air Force has taken a mature but sound airframe (30 years of service life remaining) and made it markedly more flexible, reliable, versatile and productive. The engines are actually ten times more dependable on the C-5M than they were on earlier versions. They're even more environmentally friendly. If Pentagon policymakers ever decide to reward medals for bolstering efficiency, the people who are executing the C-5M effort deserve to be early recipients.

The US Air Force has some big decisions to make soon about strategic airlifters. The backlog for the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III runs dry in 2014. That year also is the current expiration date for the Lockheed Martin C-5M programme, which is converting about 50 C-5B models to the re-engined and more reliable M-model configuration.

Perhaps sensing little immediate enthusiasm by the USAF to buy yet more strategic airlifters, Boeing and Lockheed are seeking to extend those products as long as possible. Boeing is working on collecting even more foreign orders for the C-17A. Meanwhile, Lockheed has some new ideas for preserving the life of the C-5M production line.

For Lockheed, the solution may lie in the commercial market, said Jim Grant, vice president for air mobility. The USAF plans to retire between 22 and 32 C-5As within the next two years. Lockheed is proposing to offer these aircraft to either allies or commercial freighter companies.

The Antonov An-124 has proven a market exists for a C-5-sized airlifter to move heavy and out-size cargo. The USAF, in fact, is one of the An-124 operator Volga-Dnepr's biggest customers. The C-5A is likely far more expensive to operate than the An-124, but Grant has a possible solution. The C-5A could be modified to the M-configuration, which includes installing four new General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofans. That upgrade will make the C-5 competitive on price with other outsize cargo freighters in the commercial market, he said.

In 2015, the cost to build and install the C-5M upgrades will be about $100 million per aircraft. The USAF has estimated the C-5A airframe will be viable through about 2030. Compare that to the cost of a new Boeing 747-8F, which is currently about $319.3 million for a 30- to 40-year airframe. Buying new An-124s would likely be cheaper, but is a non-starter for US-based freighter companies.

Grant's commercialization strategy also happens to serve the dual purpose of keeping Lockheed's reliability enhancement and reengining programme (RERP) for the C-5 going for perhaps one or two more years. Perhaps then the USAF may consider upgrading the last 30 or 40 remaining C-5As, which at that point will have about 10 years of service life left.

Converting US military airlifters into commercial freighters is no sure bet. The BC-17 concept was marketed aggressively by the USAF and Boeing for a decade, but was essentially dead on arrival. Lockheed had more success converting the C-130 into the L-100 for the commercial aircraft, but its success was marginal compared to the military programme. Over 30 years, Lockheed delivered only 114 L-100s