Boeing flight deck upgrade to help keep USAF’s C-17A fleet flying until 2075

With the C-17A Globemaster III now expected to remain operational until the mid-2070s, the US Air Force (USAF) has chosen Boeing – the type’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) – to modernise the flight deck of the air arm’s premier heavy-lift strategic airlifter.

The recent contract award was announced by Boeing on 9 February, with the firm confirming that the new deal covers the design, manufacture, integration, qualification and military certification of a new, modernised flight deck for the USAF’s existing C-17A fleet.

As part of this flight deck modernisation programme, Boeing will also replace the Globemaster III’s current avionics suite and other mission-specific equipment with a newer, more modern system that leverages a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) design. This new system will enable the USAF’s C-17A fleet to receive plug-and-play enhancements, ensuring that the force can rapidly and affordably employ new capabilities and technologies on the type.

What this upgrade means for the USAF’s C-17A fleet

The basis for this new deal stems from a $266.6m cost-plus fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract that was awarded to Boeing by the US Department of War (DOW) on 19 December 2025, which focused on the provision of a new, modernised flight deck for the C-17. While Boeing did not disclose any of these costs in its own announcement, Aviation Week has reported that the contract award has “an estimated lifetime value of more than $400m.”

Commenting on this latest deal, Travis Williams – the vice president of USAF Mobility and Training Services at Boeing – said: “The C-17A has been the backbone of global air mobility for over three decades. With the [USAF] requirement to keep the C-17A viable through 2075, we already have a clear and achievable roadmap to support their needs, and the needs of our international partners around the globe…

“By resolving [the aircraft’s] avionics obsolescence and introducing MOSA, we’re preserving a proven, highly dependable, heavy airlifter and keeping it at the forefront of performance and efficiency for decades to come,” he added.

Boeing did not detail a planned delivery schedule for the C-17A’s modernised flight deck in its initial release. However, Curtiss-Wright also announced on 9 February that it had been subcontracted by Boeing to provide relevant mission computers for the upgrade.

USAF now plans to keep the C-17A operational until 2075

The move comes as the USAF is now starting to consider the future of its strategic airlift fleet, which comprises over 200 C-17As and more than 50 oversized C-5M Super Galaxy heavy-lift transports. While the former began operations with the USAF in January 1995, the first examples of the latter (then operating under the C-5A Galaxy designation) were delivered to the air arm in June 1970.

In November 2025, the USAF’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) released a new airlift recapitalisation strategy that revealed the service’s plan to retain its older C-5Ms in operational service until 2045 (at the latest) and its newer and far larger C-17A fleet until 2075.

The service is also planning for the successor of both platforms – which will be developed under the Next-Generation Airlift (NGAL) programme – to enter production by the late-2030s, before joining the USAF’s operational ranks in the 2040s. The USAF is expected to launch a study into its prospective NGAL solutions in 2027.

As per current plans, the USAF’s future NGAL solution will initially replace the service’s 52 remaining C-5Ms. These airlifters recently underwent two mid-life upgrades – namely the C-5M Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) and Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) – bringing them to Super Galaxy-standard and extending the type’s viable operational life through to the 2040s. By 2045, the USAF’s older C-5M airframes will be more than 70 years old.

Inside NGAL: The USAF’s replacement for the C-5M and C-17A

The NGAL solution will then be operated alongside the USAF’s remaining Globemaster III fleet until 2075, when the latter is expected to be retired from operational use. By this time, the oldest remaining C-17As would be nearly 80 years old.

While the USAF has now operated the C-17A fleet for more than 30 years, the platform has yet to receive any major mid-life upgrades. The USAF is reportedly assessing several more options to help keep the C-17A fleet operational until the mid-2070s.

One reported option considers a potential re-engining programme for the platform. This has proved successful with the Super Galaxy and is currently being conducted on the service’s veteran fleet of B-52H Stratofortress heavy bombers under the type’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP).

Another solution would be for the USAF to order more new-build Globemaster IIIs under a rebooted C-17 production line, which could also open the door for additional export sales of the four-engined heavy-lift strategic transport. After producing and delivering 275 C-17As to customers from 1993. Boeing ceased production of the Globemaster III at its Long Beach facility in California in 2015.

Will Boeing restart production of the Globemaster III?

As previously stated, the USAF currently operates more than 200 C-17As. Developed from the ashes of McDonnell Douglas’ YC-15 tactical transport – which aimed to replace the C-130 as the USAF’s primary short take-off and landing (STOL) tactical airlifter – the C-17A completed its maiden flight on 15 September 1991. The platform, which was subsequently redeveloped for the strategic airlift role, subsequently entered operational USAF service on 17 January 1995.

In total, Boeing delivered 222 C-17As to the USAF and a further 53 airframes to international partners, comprising Australia (8), Canada (5), India (11), Kuwait (2), Qatar (8), the United Arab Emirates (8) and the UK (8). The firm also delivered three C-17As to NATO’s Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) Heavy Airlift Wing at Papa Air Base in Hungary.

Boeing has recently hinted at the prospect of restarting the C-17 production line. In June 2025, it was reported that Boeing was in talks with an undisclosed international customer regarding the prospective reboot of C-17 production and that several other nations would be interested in such a move.

Despite this growing demand for both domestic and international sales, Boeing has yet to decide on whether it will ultimately restart production of the iconic C-17A.

While Boeing shuttered its C-17A production line more than a decade ago, several countries – including already established operators (such as Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the UK) and new prospective customers, like Japan, have expressed their interest in acquiring new C-17As, if production of the type were to restart.