Sir - We agree with Comment "Strategic retreat" (Flight International, 12-18 February, P3), which says that the US armed forces must replace the Lockheed C-141 in the early 2000s.
That replacement, the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III, already exists. We recently delivered aircraft No 30 to the Air Mobility Command. The aircraft is fulfilling its role as the US Air Force's core airlifter.
The only new large-aircraft programmes envisaged early in the next century are replacements for the Lockheed C-5A and the Boeing KC-135 tanker, for which roles the C-17 is a candidate as well.
RICHARD FULLER
director - communications
McDonnell Douglas
Military Transport Aircraft
Long Beach, California, USA
Source: Flight International
