page_title: Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Lockheed C-5 Galaxy / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., received the 2006 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research on Monday, May 1, 2006, for its use of operations research to streamline maintenance procedures for the C-5 Galaxy. Using innovative management processes, the time required to repair and overhaul the C-5 was reduced 33 percent.
context_page_description: The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft originally designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsized and oversized loads, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many similarities to the smaller Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and the later Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-5 is among the largest military aircraft in the world.
  The C-5 Galaxy's development was complicated, including significant cost overruns, and Lockheed suffered significant financial difficulties. Shortly after entering service, cracks in the wings of many aircraft were discovered and the C-5 fleet was restricted in capability until corrective work was completed. The C-5M Super Galaxy is an upgraded version with new engines and modernized avionics designed to extend its service life beyond 2040.
  The USAF has operated the C-5 since 1969.
context_section_description: The first C-5A was delivered to the USAF on 17 December 1969. Wings were built up in the early 1970s at Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Charleston AFB, South Carolina; Dover AFB, Delaware; and Travis AFB, California. The C-5's first mission was on 9 July 1970, in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. C-5s were used to transport equipment and troops, including Army tanks and even some small aircraft, throughout the later years of the US action in Vietnam. In the final weeks of the war, prior to the Fall of Saigon, several C-5s were involved in evacuation efforts.  During one such mission, a C-5A crashed while transporting a large number of orphans, with over 140 killed.
  C-5s have also been used to deliver support and reinforce various US allies over the years. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, multiple C-5s and C-141 Starlifters delivered critical supplies of ammunition, replacement weaponry and other forms of aid to Israel, the US effort was named as Operation Nickel Grass. The C-5 Galaxy's performance in Israel was such that the Pentagon began to consider further purchases. The C-5 was regularly made available to support American allies, such as the British-led peacekeeper initiative in Zimbabwe in 1979.
  On 24 October 1974, the Space and Missile Systems Organization successfully conducted an air-launched ballistic missile test, where a C-5A Galaxy aircraft air dropped an 86,000-pound (39,000 kg) Minuteman ICBM from 20,000 feet (6,100 m) over the Pacific Ocean. The missile descended to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) before its rocket engine fired. The 10-second engine burn carried the missile to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) again before it dropped into the ocean. The test proved the feasibility of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from the air. Operational deployment was discarded due to engineering and security difficulties, though the capability was used as a negotiating point in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Aircraft 69–0014, "Zero-One-Four" used in the test was retired to the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base.
  The C-5 has been used for several unusual functions. During the development of the secretive stealth fighter, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, Galaxies were often used to carry partly disassembled aircraft, leaving no exterior signs as to their cargo. The C-5 remains the largest aircraft to operate in the Antarctic, capable of operating from Williams Field near McMurdo Station. The C-5 Galaxy was a major supply asset in the international coalition operations in 1990–91 against Iraq in the Gulf War. C-5s have routinely delivered relief aid and humanitarian supplies to areas afflicted with natural disasters or crisis; multiple flights were made over Rwanda in 1994.
  The C-5 is also used to transport Marine One.
  The wings on the C-5As were replaced during the 1980s to restore full design capability. The USAF took delivery of the first C-5B on 28 December 1985 and the final one in April 1989. The reliability of the C-5 fleet has been a continued issue throughout its lifetime, however the C-5M upgrade program seeks in part to address this issue. Their strategic airlift capacity has been a key logistical component of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Following an incident during Operation Iraqi Freedom where one C-5 was damaged by a projectile, the installation of defensive systems has become a stated priority.
  The C-5 AMP and RERP modernization programs plan to raise mission-capable rate to a minimum goal of 75%. Over the next 40 years, the U.S. Air Force estimates the C-5M will save over $20 billion. The first C-5M conversion was completed on 16 May 2006 and C-5Ms began test flights at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in June 2006. In 2008, the USAF decided to convert remaining C-5Bs and C-5Cs into C-5Ms with avionics upgrades and re-engining. The C-5As will receive only the avionics upgrades. The last of 52 C-5Ms was delivered to Air Mobility Command in August 2018.
  In response to Air Force plans to retire older C-5 aircraft, Congress implemented legislation that set limits on retirement plans for
caption: A C-5 taking off from Robins AFB
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