Australia Orders Another C-17

Good news for Long Beach: The Commonwealth of Australia is buying another C-17 Globemaster III. The announcement came a few minutes after 12 noon, today, April 18.

The order marks the 5th C-17 for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

According to the announcement, the aircraft is needed due to the increased demand for humanitarian and disaster relief missions.

The announcement said: “RAAF C-17s supported relief efforts to earthquake – and tsunami-affected regions in Japan under Operation PACIFIC ASSIST for nearly two weeks in March.” The RAAF delivered personnel and more than 1 million pounds of cargo – including food and water, vehicles, disaster relief equipment, and pumps to help cool the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Weeks earlier, the RAAF supported relief efforts in Christchurch, New Zealand, following an earthquake there, and to several communities in Queensland, Australia, that were affected by flooding.”

C-17 Program Manager Bob Ciesla thanked the RAAF for its confidence in the airlifter’s capabilities. “We salute the RAAF and its crews, who helped save lives in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. We are proud to serve as their partner.”