Defence Equipment and Support

C-17 Command Support Team

The C-17 and Command Support Team is responsible for procuring and sustaining the RAF’s Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft fleet and Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) fleet of H125 & BAe146 jets.

RAF C17

RAF C17 [Source: MOD]

The C-17 & CS Project Team is split over four sites - Abbey Wood, Bristol, Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Dayton, Ohio, USA) and two small teams located at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Northolt.

C17

The C-17 fleet undertakes outsize heavy airlift over strategic distances and is currently intensively engaged in support of operations and humanitarian missions.

The C-17 element of the team supports seven Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

The aircraft is used for aero medical purposes and the carriage of heavy military vehicles (particularly for IED protected vehicles), large military equipment including helicopters and Unmanned Air Vehicles and personnel in passenger carrying role with seating pallets.

The C-17 and Command Support Team helps 99 Squadron personnel provide operational and immediate level maintenance for C-17. Depot level maintenance and aircraft upgrades / enhancements are provided by the team under US Foreign Military Sales arrangements on an availability-based Contractor Logistics Support contract.

The team also provides 99 Squadron ground crew training, carried out predominantly in the UK at the VC10/TriStar Maintenance School at RAF Brize Norton. Aircrew training is carried out mainly in the USA at Altus Air Force Base for ab-initio students and Travis Air Force Base and March Air Force Base for continuity training.

CAST

Command Support provides transportation in support of priority MOD tasks where commercial travel or other military transport resources are unavailable, impractical or inappropriate. Typically, this role involves the movement of government ministers and senior officials, senior military commanders, reconnaissance teams, aircrew, couriers, urgent or highly classified mail, and small quantities of cargo, especially critical spares. Notably, Command Support has been used for HQ Deployment and support during the Gulf war, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. When not required in support of its primary role, Command Support provides secure air transportation for use by the Royal Family and senior members of other Government departments.

Current Activity

C-17 Aircrew Training was set up in 1999, in order to ensure the UK had trained aircrew ready for the delivery of the first leased UK C-17 in May 2001. The training requirement is currently delivered by the United States Air Force (USAF) to the same standard as the USAF’s own aircrew.

C-17 support is enabled through a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) arrangement and sourced from the United States Air Force Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership contract with Boeing. Support includes access to the global C-17 spares pool, Design Authority and safety management, maintenance facilities, test and evaluation, Boeing Field Service team at RAF Brize Norton, Aircrew training etc. This arrangement has proven to be highly successful, enabling sustained over-achievement of planned flying rates and high levels of customer satisfaction in support of operations.


Page updated 3 October 2011


Our Teams

in this section:

Quick Facts

Team Leader : James Evans

C17 Cargo Capacity : 70 Tonnes

C17 Range : 2,400 nautical miles

C17 Flying hours since delivery : more than 50,000 hours

Contact details

C-17 Project Team

Defence Equipment & Support

Walnut 1c #1134

MOD

Abbey Wood South

Bristol

BS34 8JH

History

2001 - the Short Term Strategic Airlift (STSA) requirement was met by the lease of four C-17 aircraft from the Boeing Company.

2004 - the four aircraft fleet was equipped with the Large Aircraft Infra Red Counter Measures Defensive Aids System.

2006 - the UK Investment Approvals Board approved procurement of the four C-17 aircraft at the end of the lease completing in September 2008.

2006 - A fifth C-17 aircraft was procured.  This aircraft was delivered from the Boeing production line Long Beach, CA in February 2008.

2007 - the Secretary of State for Defence announced the intention to procure a sixth C-17 aircraft that was delivered in June 2008 to reinforce the air bridge.

2008 – Four C-17 lease buy-out

2009 – Collocation announced between the C-17 Team and the Communications Fleet from RAF Wyton to Abbey Wood in the third quarter of 2010.

2009 - Contract amendment formally agreed with Boeing in December for a seventh C-17 aircraft.

2011 – The seventh aircraft was delivered in January 2011 and arrived at RAF Brize Norton.

Related Pages

C-17 Fact File

Defence Equipment and Support

Related links

Boeing
Qinetiq
Wright Patterson Air Force Base
RAF Brize Norton
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