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Section from C-17 Globemaster III

Commercial interest

In the mid-1990s, McDonnell Douglas began to market the C-17 to commercial civilian operators, under the name MD-17. After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, the program was renamed BC-17. Strong impetus was provided to advance this initiative through a collaborative effort between the USAF and Boeing in 2000, designated CAMAA (Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft) as a means to mitigate Congressionally ordered force reduction through directives such as the Base Reduction and Closure Act(BRAC).

History of CAMAA Program Experiment

According to a recently released internal document "The Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft (CAMAA) Program: Observations and Recommendations" which was prepared at the direction of former Secretary of The Air Force Dr. James G. Roche in August 2001 by national security strategist Dr. Sheila Ronis, Director, MBA/MSM Programs Associate Professor, Management, Walsh College (also a visioning group leader for the Project On National Security Reform) and industry analyst Myron D. Stokes, currently Managing Member of Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC, an entity formed in 2002 to bring together the intellectual resources to craft architecture for global infrastructure of a new US/NATO-controlled Heavy and Outsized subset of the air cargo industry utilizing new and used commercial variants of the C-17 Globemaster III designated BC-17,

Notably, the Ronis/Stokes paper to SECAF Roche pointed out the limitations of the CAMAA program, as originally conceived, and made recommendations to the Secretary to help ensure the program's success. These recommendations and changes were directed by the Secretary to be implemented within a revamped framework co-crafted by Ronis and Stokes in strong collaboration with USAF and Boeing personnel.

Continued Evolution of HeavyLift Strategy

CAMAA modification strategies recommended to Secretary Roche led to the development of 17 case studies of actual let projects -- conducted by the Air Force and Boeing with some of the world’s largest corporations including Exxon-Mobil, Dupont, Conoco-Philips and Halliburton -- to demonstrate the ability of the BC-17 to significantly reduce costs associated with global exploration, extraction and exploiting of oil, gas, gold and diamond resources. A 25 year business plan proving the viability of the heavylift initiative was also produced. The value of projects around the world involved in the development of these studies, exceeded USD 400 billion, according to the Air Force and Boeing documents.

The Roche paper authors also recommended in 2004 that used C-17s –- acquired directly from the Air Force -- be considered as a means to reduce costs, create earlier profitability and compress the program implementation timeframe. The strategy was encapsulated in a process known as Transformational Recapitalization and presented in the November 2004 issue of Defense AT&L by Dr. Ronis.

Status of BC-17 Initiative: 2006-2009

Congressional Authorization for Sale of of C-17As to Private Sector; FAA Exemption to 14 CFR 21.27 Requirement

In FY06, FY07, FY08 and FY09 Defense budgets, and if necessary, FY10, language was submitted and will be submitted again through Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) staffers directing the Secretary of Defense to authorize the USAF to sell first generation C-17s (there is precedent for military equipment resale activity in FY98 and FY00) to the private sector for the purpose of expanding the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to include Heavy and Outsize capacity -- thus removing current dependence on Russian/Ukrainian AN-124 aircraft (operating in the US on daily FAA waivers) to fulfil US military airlift shortfalls for Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Furthermore, the FAA is instructed through this mechanism to consider exemption to FAA 14 CFR 21.27, which requires that aircraft declared "military surplus" be go through recertification; a time consuming and costly undertaking as noted previously.

'''Presentation of Blueprint for Global BC-17 based Heavy and Outsized Air Cargo Operations During SpeedNews Aerospace and Defense Conference; The Jonathan Club, Los Angeles, CA 9 May 2007'''

Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC Managing Member Myron D. Stokes provided attendees, which included financial sector representatives, a detailed strategy for implementing a US/NATO-controlled Heavy and Outsized air cargo industry operating from four main bases designated as "epicenters" in the US. Europe, Middle-East and Asia.

Significant Interest by Potential Operators

Contrary to oft stated opinions to the effect there has been minimal interest in the BC-17, the facts belie the assertion: In a May 2007 Flight Global Article "Boeing Close to Launching BC-17", Boeing acknowledged signficant interest in the BC-17. Global HeavyLift provided a Request For Pricing (RFP) involving 30 new aircraft. Boeing senior management was also presented with a strategy by a designated lead financial entity representing a consortium of banks to structure an 18.4 billion quadruple and simultaneous raise (30 new and 60 used aircraft) in four geographic locales: US, Europe, Asia and Middle-East This approach allowed the lead bank to tap into multiple funding resources globally.

BC-17 Issues Political, Not Financial

The real issues with BC-17 therefore have not been financial, but political, as the intense Capitol Hill debates about the future of this aircraft have indicated. ASIMOV51 (talk) 06:14, 26 January 2009 (UTC)