US Military Cargo Outsourcing..Unbelievable!!!

[flyboyike]

2. Russia is a hostile country to the United States.

There is a difference between someone not being head-over-heels in love with you and someone being "hostile" to you. Russia is mostly the former.

 

[Be 23]

What nationality are the Antonovs doing the military contracting? A quick check of the calendar shows that they used to be Soviet, but aren't any more.

I had heard that they're Ukrainian. Maybe they're from multiple contries. If so, maybe assisting former Soviet republics to further their independence from mother Russia might be a worthwhile foreign policy goal.

 

[freightdogfred]

Let's cut to the bottom line here......

1. USAF C-5's, C-17's and C-130's can carry the same load as the AN124.

Well, actually, no they can't.

AN-124

Data from antonov.com[22]
General characteristics

• Crew: 6
• Capacity: 88 passengers
• Payload: 150,000 kg (330,000 lb)
• Length: 68.96 m (226 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 73.3 m (240 ft 5 in)
• Height: 20.78 m (68 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 628 m² (6,760 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,000 lb)
• Loaded weight: 405,000 kg (892,000 lb)
• Useful load: 230,000 kg (508,000 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
• Powerplant: 4× Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 865 km/h (467 kn (537 mph))
• Cruise speed: 800-850 km/h (430 kn (490 mph))
• Range: 5,400 km (2,900 nm, 3,360 mi (5,410 km))
• Service ceiling 12,000 m (35,000 ft)
• Wing loading: 365 kg/m² (74.7 lb/sq ft)
• Thrust/weight: 0.41

C-5 Galaxy
Data from USAF fact sheet,[33] Lockheed-Martin C-5,[34] and Quest for Performance[35]
General characteristics

• Crew: 8 typical (Pilot, first pilot, copilot, two flight engineers, three loadmasters)
  4 minimum (Pilot, copilot, two flight engineers)
• Payload: 270,000 lb (120,000 kg)
• Length: 247 ft 1 in (75.3 m)
• Wingspan: 222 ft 9 in (67.89 m)
• Height: 65 ft 1 in (19.84 m)
• Wing area: 6,200 ft² (580 m²)
• Empty weight: 380,000 lb (170,000 kg)
• Loaded weight: 769,000 lb (349,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 840,000 lb (381,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× General Electric TF39-GE-1C high-bypass turbofan, 43,000 lbf (190 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 0.79 (503 knots, 579 mph, 931 km/h)
• Cruise speed: Mach 0.77
• Range: 2,400 nmi (2,761 mi, 4,445 km) with a 263,200 lb payload
• Service ceiling 34,000 ft (10.4 km)
• Rate of climb: 1,800 ft/min (9.1 m/s)
• Wing loading: 120 lb/ft² (610 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.22
• Takeoff roll: 8,400 ft (2,600 m)
• Landing roll: 3,600 ft (1,100 m)
• Fuel capacity: 51,150 US gal (193,620 L)

C-17 Globemaster
Data from USAF fact sheet,[6] Boeing,[81] and AerospaceWeb[82]
General characteristics

• Crew: 3: 2 pilots, 1 loadmaster
• Capacity:
  • 102 troops or
  • 36 litter and 54 ambulatory patients
• Payload: 170,900 lb (77,519 kg) of cargo distributed at max over 18 463L master pallets or a mix of palletized cargo and vehicles
• Length: 174 ft (53 m)
• Wingspan: 169.8 ft (51.75 m)
• Height: 55.1 ft (16.8 m)
• Wing area: 3,800 ft² (353 m²)
• Empty weight: 282,500 lb (128,100 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 585,000 lb (265,350 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans, 40,440 lbf (180 kN) each
• Fuel capacity: 35,546 US gal (134,556 L)

Performance

• Cruise speed: Mach 0.76 (450 knots, 515 mph, 830 km/h)
• Range: 2,420 nmi[81] (2,785 mi, 4,482 km)
• Service ceiling 45,000 ft (13,716 m)
• Max wing loading: 150 lb/ft² (750 kg/m²)
• Minimum thrust/weight: 0.277

 

[milky]

Another reason, for you short-sighted individuals, is that US insurance companies will not insure N registered aircraft to land into war zones. They are now allowed over-flight only, which is a change from the begining of the wars.

Atlas got landing permission from the FAA early on, but no US insurance company would insure them with their N registered airplanes.

As an Army officer and an Atlas pilot, I can tell you that the MRAP does not fit in the B-747 or DC-10 and boat is too slow for the immediate need. The only civil aircraft for the lift in the AN. Otherwise, Atlas, Kalitta, World, Southern and others would be making a ton of money on them.

On the other point of non-American made flags: How many of you drive a non-American made vehicle because you say American mades are junk? How many Blue Bell factories (US based textile and sewing manufacturing of clothing and other sewn goods) have shut down because you want cheaper clothing and American flags? You want Walmart prices, but you want union wages. However, You think it's cool to be pretentious and have a Rolex knockoff and give you wife or girfriend a Louis Vuitton knockoff bag you picked-up in Hong Kong or Bangkok for next-to-nothing. What's up with that union boy?

The US economy is where it is today because we, as a society, went from selfless to selfish over the past 50 years. I'm not talking just about Wall Streeters. I'm mean all of us.

Go ahead and blast away at my public thoughts. At least I'm doing something, right now, to be selfless to defend your right to blast away at me.

OUT

You mean we cannot raise the minimum wage to $20/hour and still get a happy meal for $2? WTF?!?

 

[waka]

..................

 

[avbug]

Two, until recently (3-4 months ago), the State Department, not the insurance company, did not allow N registered aircraft to go into Iraq (do not confuse this with Afghanistan).

Wrong again. N Registered aircraft have been operating there for quite some time now.

 

[One Dot Low]

Wrong again. N Registered aircraft have been operating there for quite some time now.

There's always an exception to the rules. We have flown our whales into Afghanistan for a few years now but the Stated department did not allow our whales into Iraq until a few months ago.

Yes, shoulda dot my tees and crossed my iis.

As far as I know, Volga-Dnepr is the operator for the 124s and they are Ukranian and not Russian. We might think they are one and the same (typical we) but go to Kiev and tell them that and get ready for ass kicking. Kinda like mistaken Pakistani and Indian or Greek and Turks etc.

How do the Ukranians feel about Russia? Well, Ukraine wants to join the NATO and EU (align with the West, the Orange Revolution) but the Russian aren't too happy with that so they cut off the gas supplies into Ukraine citing non-payment etc.

 

[TWA]

Volga-Dnepr is Russian, Antonov Airlines is Ukrainian. Both operate the AN-124.

 

[One Dot Low]

Volga-Dnepr is Russian, Antonov Airlines is Ukrainian. Both operate the AN-124.

Thanks. I stand corrected. Another Russian carrier that operates the 124 is Polet Airlines.

 

[Nevergreen]

Still the bottom line is the same.....No foreign carriers should be utilized to carry US Gov't cargo when US planes can do the same job.

Put the vehicles on C-5's and C-17's. Period.

And for the record, they are Russian Registered planes. I have seen them with my own eyes.

Russia is a hostile country. They provide weapons to countries and groups that then use them against our soldiers.