A Medical evacuation flight (Mississippi Air National Guard's 172nd Airlift Wing/791st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) from Balad Air Base, Iraq, to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on February 25, 2007. US Air Force personnel gather patient information on a C-17 aeromedical evacuation mission from Balad Air Base, Iraq to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) C-17 Globemaster III is a large American airlifter manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, and operated by the United States Air Force, British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Canadian Forces.[3] NATO and Qatar will also acquire the airlifter. The C-17 Globemaster III is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. It is also capable of performing tactical airlift, medical evacuation and airdrop missions. The C-17 takes its name from two previous United States cargo aircraft, the C-74 Globemaster and the C-124 Globemaster II.

C-17 Specifications: 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[74] (2,785 mi, 4,482 km) Service ceiling 45,000 ft (13,716 m) Max wing loading: 150 lb/ft² (750 kg/m²)