For nearly three decades, the C-17 Globemaster III has provided the bulk of airlift for the Air Force.
When something absolutely positively has to get there, the C-17 is the aircraft for the job. The prime example is its performance in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Operation Allies Refuge, the largest non-combatant evacuation airlift in U.S. history. The C-17 was key in evacuating more than 124,000 people over 17 days at the end of August 2021.
