Photos: Boeing delivers India's third C-17 Globemaster III

by Vinay Bhaskara

Boeing image

The third Boeing C-17 Globemaster III for the Indian Air Force departed on 20th August from Boeing's Long Beach facility, after the first and second C-17s arrived in June and July.

India will take delivery of two more C-17s this year, and five in 2014. The Indian Air Force is the largest operator of the C-17 after the United States.

The C-17 is a large, versatile military transport aircraft able to carry heavy, oversize loads long distances and land on rough and unprepared surfaces. It has been used in humanitarian and military missions around the world and recently surpassed 2.6 million flight hours."

To date, Boeing has delivered 256 C-17s; 222 to the U.S. Air Force, and a total of 34 distributed between Australia,Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), and the Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO.