For over 75 years, the United States Air Force has been able to deploy and sustain forces at a time and place of its choosing, but a series of converging challenges have undermined that ability. Key mobility platforms like the C-5 and C-17 are aging, parts are harder to come by and the long legs required to cover the Pacific theater consume flight hours faster, shortening the time between maintenance cycles. Meanwhile, integrating new capabilities to outpace an accelerating threat demands additional downtime the fleet can ill afford.
In response, the Air Force has initiated two efforts set against ambitious timelines. In June, the Air Force published a Request for Information to acquire a Next-Generation Airlift (or NGAL) platform to replace both the C-5 and C-17. At the same time, the Air Force is putting funds toward a new research and development program, Large Aircraft Survivability Systems (or LASS) to equip airlifters and aerial refuelers with their own defensive weapon systems.
In this episode of “The Elara Edge," Elara Nova Senior Principal Advisor Gen (Ret) Jackie Van Ovost is joined by Executive Partners Lt Gen (Ret) Rick Moore and Lt Gen (Ret) Ty Thomas to analyze the Air Force’s recent RFI for a Next-Generation Airlift platform to replace the C-5 and C-17, as well as a government-funded study to develop Large Aircraft Survivability Systems to defend airlifts and tankers from the evolving threat.
"The Elara Edge" is hosted and produced by Scott King of Elara Nova. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.
