The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a four-engine, heavy strategic airlift transport aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force, providing India’s largest and longest-range military airlift capability for troop, equipment and disaster-relief transport.[1]
The Indian Air Force operates ten C-17 strategic airlifters, delivered by Boeing beginning in 2013–2014 under a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the United States, giving the IAF a heavy-lift capability previously unavailable in its transport fleet.[1]
The C-17 is 174 ft (53 m) long with a wingspan of about 170 ft (52 m), powered by four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines. It can carry a maximum payload of roughly 170,900 lb (about 77 tonnes/70 tons), including around 150 fully equipped troops, or oversized cargo such as main battle tanks and helicopters, over an unrefuelled range of up to 2,800 nautical miles. Its short/rough-field landing capability allows it to operate from austere or high-altitude forward airstrips inaccessible to many other strategic transports.[1]
The IAF’s C-17 fleet has been used extensively for strategic troop and heavy-equipment deployment to forward areas including Ladakh, for humanitarian and disaster-relief airlift operations, and for long-range power-projection missions, forming the backbone of India’s heavy strategic-airlift capability alongside the smaller C-130J Super Hercules fleet.[2]
| Type | Heavy strategic airlift transport aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Boeing (USA) |
| IAF fleet size | 10 aircraft (delivered from 2013–2014) |
| Length / Wingspan | 174 ft / 170 ft |
| Engines | 4× Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans |
| Max payload | ~170,900 lb (~70 tons / ~150 troops) |
| Range (unrefuelled) | Up to 2,800 nm |
| Role | Strategic heavy airlift, disaster relief, forward-area troop/equipment deployment |