Advanced Medium STOL Transport
With the United States Air Force's Advanced Medium STOL Transport Project ( AMST ) , a successor to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft was sought in the 1970s .
history
The origins of the program go back to 1963, when the Air Force discussed the development of a tactical VSTOL transporter as part of the CX Heavy Logistics Support Aircraft program, from which the C-5 Galaxy emerged . After severe setbacks with both the C-5 and F-111 , the US Department of Defense put an extensive testing phase before any planned procurement measure. Since the Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard sharply criticized the C-5 Galaxy in the early 1970s, the requirements for the new tactical transporter were greatly reduced. On January 24, 1972, the official tendering phase began, in which nine US manufacturers were involved. From Bell , Boeing , Fairchild , Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas were to end before the tender phase on March 31 offers which were examined by the Ministry of Defense. In 1974 Boeing and McDonnell Douglas received orders to build two test models, and development budgets were $ 96.2 million (Boeing) and $ 86.1 million, respectively. By 1976, both companies had completed the two models ( Boeing YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas YC-15 ), which were thoroughly tested in the following year and a half. However, after Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1977, the military budget was cut. The AMST program, the evaluation of which had already been postponed by a year, was discontinued in autumn 1977. The program was officially ended on December 10, 1979.
From the YC-15, McDonnell Douglas developed the C-17 Globemaster III in the early 1980s . The C-130 Hercules, the aircraft that the winner of the program was to replace, is still in production and in service around the world.
conditions
- Takeoff weight between 110 and 117 tons
- Take-off run of 610 meters with a load of 13.6 tons
- 925 kilometers operational radius
- 4820 kilometers transfer range
- Unit price: $ 5 million
Additional information
literature
- Bill Norton: Stol Progenitors: The Technology Path to a Large Stol Transport and the C-17A . American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, 2002. ISBN 1563475766
Web links
- AMST at globalsecurity.org