C-141 Starlifter Troop and Cargo Carrier

C-141 Starlifter Troop and Cargo Carrier

The Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) C-141 was the first jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop transport and cargo. It was also the first military plane that was developed with the requirement for FAA type certification in the contract. The Starlifter is the workhorse of Air Mobility Command. It serves a broad spectrum of airlift requirements through its ability to airlift combat forces over long distances, where those forces and their equipment either by conventional downloads airdrop, resupply forces employees, and extract the sick and wounded from a hostile area.

The C-141B is a stretched version of the original C-141A in flight refueling capability. The C-141B is about 23 feet longer than the C-141A, with capacity increased by about one third. The C-141 force, reaching seven million hours of flight, has a proven reliability and long range.

To delay the aging aircraft fleet in active service, 56 airplanes were transferred to PAI Guard and Reserve from FY95 EU. In addition, the process of retiring high flight hour equivalent aircraft will culminate with the removal of the duty of the whole fleet active AMC FY03. The Air Force plans to retire equipped unit (EU) ARC C-141C aircraft by FY06. A total of 99 C-141 in service worldwide in late 2001. The Air Force does not use the C-141 in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, relying instead on the new, larger C-17. The C-141 were scheduled to retire from active duty before 2004 and inventory of the Reserve and Air National Guard before 2006.