This aircraft's role is to help project American military might anywhere in the world and it has therefore been given a global reach. It has been used to fly the much publicised humanitarian missions over Afghanistan where it dropped food parcels.

It can carry around 170,900 lbs (77,000 kg) of cargo. This translates into about 100 troops and their equipment. It can also carry most military vehicles, and can drop paratroops while airbourne.

As befits a utility vehicle the C-17 has been built to be reliable and low maintenance. It can work from short and relatively badly maintained airstrips and has a complete crew of three: the pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster.

The C-17 measures approximately 174 feet (53 metres) and has a 170 ft (52 m) wingspan. It is powered by four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 engines, and has a top speed of around 500 mph (800 kph).