Here's Why Boeing Discontinued The C-17 Globemaster III Military Cargo Aircraft

With its long history in the aviation industry, it's unsurprising Boeing has seen many changes to its fleets. As aviation technology improves, it's only natural that older units are replaced with more advanced, efficient models, especially when they are no longer as cost-effective to maintain or fit the existing mission requirements. Of course, when it comes to military planes, staying ahead of the game is even more important as threats continue evolve. Among the many acclaimed Boeing aircraft cut from factory lines is the C-17 Globemaster III.

Although the C-17 Globemaster III had its maiden flight in 1991, it took four more years until the first C-17 squadron became operationally ready. It's gotten a reputation as an incredibly versatile aircraft that has played a part in a wide range of transport missions for troops, cargo, and medical evacuation. This is possible, in part, due to its ability to work in short runaways and land in as little as 3,000 ft, while still being able to handle sizable payloads, which Boeing claims could go up to 110,000 lbs in sequential load drops. Powered by four F117-PW-100 turbofan engines designed by Pratt & Whitney, the C-17 Globemaster III doesn't just hold a max take off weight of over 290 tons, but it also boasts a whopping 40,440 lbs of thrust per engine.

Despite its maintainability, it wasn't enough for Boeing to continue the production of the C-17 Globemaster III. Similar to the reason the 747 was axed, Boeing announced its plans to stop manufacturing the C-17 because of the lack of demand in 2013. As of this writing, Boeing says 275 C-17s are still operational, and 80% are used by the U.S. Air Force.

During the 2024 World Defense Show, Boeing executive Torbjorn Sjogre said, "The C-17 is a product that does come up quite often. If we still had a lukewarm production line there are a number of customers who have expressed interest," according to FlightGlobal. Although, Sjogre shared that it would be expensive to restart production.

On the other hand, it seems its proposed successor had no problems taking off. In an interview with FlightGlobal, Boeing's VP for international business development, defense, space & security Vince Logsdon mentioned that he believes the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft could take the C-17's place. In February 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $3.4 billion contract for a fleet of 17 P-8A aircrafts which are set to be delivered to Ottawa, Canada and Berlin, Germany.

Apart from supplying military cargo aircraft, Boeing is also known for its commercial airlines. In the past few years, Boeing has been at the center of some controversies, including the unfortunate incident when an emergency door came off mid-fight in one of its 737 Max planes earlier this year. In January 2024, passengers of an Alaska Airlines flight experienced a nightmare scenario, wherein the door came off its hinges and ended up in a residential area in Oregon.

Although there were no casualties in the Alaska Airlines flight disaster, the same can't be said for previous incidents from Boeing planes in the last few years. In 2018, the ill-fated Lion Air crash in Indonesia led to the loss of 189 individuals, while an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed within the first six minutes of its flight took the lives of over 150 people a few months later.