Emirates receives second C-17

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 14 (UPI)

The United Arab Emirates has received its second C-17 Globemaster III airlifter from Boeing at the company's final assembly facility in California.

Boeing is contracted to deliver six C-17s to the United Arab Emirates -- four this year and two in 2012.

"Congratulations to the (Emirates air force) on accepting delivery of their second C-17," Bob Ciesla, Boeing C-17 program manager, said. "The leadership of the (United Arab Emirates) team has resulted in incredible progress on this program."

The C-17 is the only aircraft capable of performing all of the Emirates' airlift requirements -- strategic and tactical, military and humanitarian, brigade airdrop and aero-medical evacuation -- using either standard runways or short, austere airfields.

It can transport large payloads across vast ranges without refueling and operate in extremely hot and cold climates. With a full payload of 170,000 pounds, a C-17 can fly 2,400 nautical miles and land in 3,000 feet or less.

"We're proud to say that UAE 02 is mission-ready," said Rich Cutting, Boeing United Arab Emirates C-17 program manager. "UAE 01, delivered just one month ago, has already logged several missions. And that's what the C-17 is all about -- being ready to perform any mission, anywhere, on a moment's notice."

As a member of the worldwide C-17 "virtual fleet," the Emirates' C-17s will be supported through Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, a multinational performance-based logistics program through which customers receive comprehensive worldwide for spares, support equipment, tech orders, sustaining engineering and on-site field teams.