Rapid, reliable and flexible - the strategic and tactical CC-177 Globemasters have just what it takes to transport large amounts of passengers and equipment over long distances in response to domestic emergencies or international crises.

Boeing's C-17 (officially designated as the CC-177 in Canada) is Canada's newest airlift purchase and will help provide everything from rapid strategic delivery of troops to cargo transport of oversized combat equipment from coast to coast and to anywhere in the world - including to our troops in Afghanistan.

The Globemaster will be flown with night vision goggles which will give it a huge tactical advantage when flying into threatening territory. Operated by a crew of three - pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster - the CC-177 is equipped with an advanced digital avionics system, has a maximum range of approximately 5,500 nautical miles and can carry a payload of up to 160,000 pounds. To illustrate the power of these aircraft, their four engines - Pratt & Whitney 2040 series - each produce 40,440 pounds of thrust.

But perhaps most useful of all, the CC-177's ability to fly long distances and land in remote airfields makes it a premier transporter for military, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. Its ability to take off and land on unpaved runways as short as 3,500 feet and as narrow as 90 feet wide during the day or night, is a very practical trait.