The C-17 Globemaster is designed for strategic military transport with greater stability for heavy oversized cargo. The T-tail design provides advantages like consistent elevator response, stall ...

A U.S. Army M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams Tank is loaded onto the cargo ramp of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during a training event at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, January 19, 2022.

Therefore we are ending production under this program." Boeing manufactured a total of 279 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, and the company says 275 of them are still in service.

The C-17's production lasted well over two decades, with the first unit making its maiden flight in 1991. Boeing had made a total of 279 C-17s, of which 275 continue to remain in service as of 2025.

The Globemaster III is a giant of a plane, but Lockheed Martin's C-5M Super Galaxy is massive and unrivaled in capabilities, carrying a maximum payload of 281,001-lbs, versus the C-17's 170,900-lbs.