On any given day, the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) completes more than 200 airlift missions carrying more than 1,000 tons of cargo and some 2,500 personnel, often flying into some of the most environmentally and/or militarily hostile areas of the world. Most of that is accomplished using two of the world's largest cargo aircraft, the C-5 Galaxy with a 135-ton payload capacity and the 80-ton pay-load capacity C-17 Globemaster III. Simply keeping aircraft of that size flying is a task unto itself. Keeping them flying under the conditions imposed by operations into global conflict or humanitarian relief following natural disasters adds significant complexities.
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