Lockheed C-5M Making Progress

Lockheed's efforts to bring the C-5 strategic airlifter up to current standards and to improve the reliability of the earlier versions is making progress as reported yesterday from Marietta. The C-5 always struggled with reliability as it was never properly funded for maintainability and reliability as the US procurement system allocated funding to newer, sexier projects. Assuming that all goes well with the testing then this latest effort to recover the situation should give the previously struggling workhorse several decades more useful service.

Lockheed C-5M

MARIETTA, Ga., August 18th, 2008 –The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) flight test team has successfully completed developmental testing of all three C-5 RERP test aircraft. The testing included verification of performance and reliability enhancements to the propulsion system, utilities and subsystems, flight controls, airframe and avionics systems.

Now that RERP developmental flight test is complete, preparations get underway to deliver the three test aircraft to the Air Force in support of Operational Test and Evaluation, scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2009.

The C-5M Super Galaxy is the result of a two-phase modernization effort. The first and ongoing phase is the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), which provides a state-of-the art glass cockpit and a digital backbone to support the RERP modifications. Forty-three C-5 aircraft have completed the AMP modifications. The aircraft, already returned to the fleet, have logged more than 38,000 hours of operational use.

Meanwhile the Antonov An-124 continues to operate both for the US military and for European nations in order to fill the gap in airlift capacity.