10 Incredible Oldest Aircraft Still in Use – #5 Is Unbelievable!

For a country with a defense budget of 886 billion, the United States

still

uses a considerable amount of old equipment, some of the outdated equipment exists because it works very, very well and nothing better has come along to replace it in other cases. to replace equipment have generally failed due to reasons related to complexity or cost, we unearth 10 examples that are among the

oldest

still

in action, from venerable

aircraft

like the B52 bomber to the stalwart C5 Galaxy transport, despite their age, continuous upgrades keep them relevant to defense strategies 10 locked C5 Galaxy The C5 Galaxy is known worldwide for its cargo capacity and remains the largest military transport

aircraft

in the US Air Force fleet, which first entered service in the early 1970s.

Currently, the US Air Force owns and operates 52 of these aircraft with a payload of 281.1 lb. can fly 2,150 nautical miles unload and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles from the original destination all without aerial refueling with aerial refueling the range of the aircraft is limited only by the endurance of the crew during which the aircraft has been flying for over 50 years and continues to play an essential role in strategic airlift operations c5m Super Galaxy is an upgraded version with new engines and modernized avionics designed specifically to extend the service life of the aircraft to 2040 and beyond nine Grumman C2 Greyhound the north Grumman built C2 Greyhound took its main flight on 18 November 1964 and entered service with the US Navy in 1966 with the primary mission of transporting passengers and critical high-priority cargo to deploy carrier strike groups.

The C2 Greyhound provides critical logistics support. There are currently a total of 15. The C2 Greyhounds are still in service to support logistics and personnel transfers on the East and West Coasts, as well as aircraft carriers deployed to the U.S. Fifth and Seventh Fleets, said Commander Beth te, spokesman for the commander of the Naval Air Forces, however, its service life is limited as the Navy plans to retire all Greyhounds by 2026 and replace them with CMV 22b ospr 8 Hughes o6 caou first flew in February 1963, the cause o6a entered service in September 1966, setting 23 world records for speed, distance and altitude, cause was Hughes' longest-running helicopter program and during the Vietnam War, up to a hundred of these helicopters were built in one month.

Initially it was called Loach, in adaptation of its acronym. He was officially named Caillou. It was also known as the Flying Egg and, when equipped for combat, helicopters were referred to as Killer Eggs. Modern O6 variants flown by US Army Special Operations Forces are known as the MH6 Little Bird, which is still in service today. seven Northrup gumman E2 Hawkeye built by North rup Grumman the E2 Hawkeye is the Navy's all-weather carrier-based tactical battle management vehicle Airborne early warning command and control aircraft the E2 is a twin-engine high-wing turboprop aircraft 5 crew members with a 24 t diameter Roto doome radar attached to the top of the fuselage the E2 Hawkeye has many nicknames, it is often called super fud because it replaced the wiie fud and is also commonly known as Hummer due to the unique sounds of its Turbo engines designed in the 1950s, the E2 made its maiden flight in 1960 and entered service in 1964.

More than 400 aircraft have been built in all variants and today Surprisingly, the E2 is still in production with the latest e2d variant. The US Navy currently has no plans to replace the current e2d Advanced Hawkeye. No possible future replacement for the Hawkeye is expected until after 2014. 40 six Boeing c47 shinook over 60 years since entry. Service in 1962 Chinooks have served as the Army's heavy lift helicopters, whether flown in harsh combat conditions, transporting loads of cargo and troops or performing humanitarian missions, the shinook has made a career of doing the unthinkable, it is huge, fast and Reasonably durable, capable of maximum speed. of 196 mph, making it one of the fastest helicopters in the US inventory manufactured by the Boeing company.

The c47s have been improved over the years and are expected to remain in service with the military for decades to come. "I have no doubt that the Shinook will be an aircraft at least 100 years old," said Patrick Surfus, Boeing's senior manager of H47 Shinook Business Development. It will continue to operate and serve the United States and its allies well beyond 2060. Five Bell uh1 iqua the Bell uh1 iqua affectionately known as QI. It is one of the most iconic helicopters in the world, famous for its extensive role in the Vietnam War and its distinctive sound. Bell developed this powerful helicopter in the mid-1950s.

It produced more than 16,000 units between 1955 and 1976, more than 7,000 of which served in Vietnam. Entering service with the US Army in 1959, the aircraft was primarily used for troop and cargo transportation, medical evacuations, and air raids. The last uh1 was officially retired from US military service in 2016; However, there are reports that the US military still technically uses newer versions of the helicopter to this day. There are three versions of the Huey that still fly: the uh1 and Hui, which is in service with the US Air Force, the uh1 Y Venom and the ah1 Z Viper, both of which serve in the Marine Corps.

These aircraft have undergone significant upgrades from their initial production models. but are expected to remain in service with the Marines for the next few years four four Boeing KC 135 the Boeing KC 135 stratotank is a military asset that served as the backbone of the US Air Force's aerial refueling fleet for more 6 decades is a versatile aircraft that plays a crucial role in extending the operational range of military aircraft, allowing them to perform long-range missions without the need for frequent stops to refuel, the KC 135 Strat tanker aircraft was equipped with platforms of aerial refueling and enough internal fuel storage to transfer up to 200,000 pounds of fuel. to fully refuel more than 15 F-16 Fighting Falcons equipped with two external fuel tanks according to the KC 135 fact sheet, the Air Force still maintains nearly 400 Strat tankers as part of the US Air Force inventory. , the KC 135 entered service in June 1957 now It is hard to believe that this aircraft has been flying for almost 70 years and is expected to fly until it is close to 100 years old.

Three locked C130 Hercules as the C130 prepares to embark on its eighth decade of retirement from service do not appear to be in sight, so expect the cargo plane that has quietly but safely flown for decades the C130 has become worthy of Its namesake is a legend in military aviation circles. The C130 entered service in the US in 1956 followed by Australia and many other nations throughout its years of service. The Hercules has participated in numerous military, civil and military operations. and humanitarian aid. The C130 is the longest continuously produced military aircraft, with a production period of more than 60 years.

According to Lockie Martin, more than 2,500 C130s have been ordered or delivered to 63 countries around the world to date. The countries operate c130s which have been produced in over 70 different variants. Two Lockheed U2. The U2 is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft capable of flying at 70,000 feet above a target with an operational radius of approximately 1,700 miles. The aircraft first entered service in 1956 and later conducted overflights of the Soviet Union generated a trove of valuable intelligence for the Department of Defense; However, the Soviets finally shot down one with surface-to-air missiles in 1960, effectively ending the flyovers. Despite this incident, the platform continued to serve the Central Intelligence Agency over the years.

Enhancements have been made to the U2 to maintain its competitive advantage in 2020. The Air Force's entire U2 fleet was equipped with electro-optical reconnaissance system sensors. The Air Force currently houses its 27 uu at the Air Force Base in California, which rotate through military installations. globally a Boeing B52 Strat Fortress designed and built by Boeing in the early stages of the Cold War the v52 was developed to be a long-range bomber capable of carrying out the Strategic Mission without depending on forward and intermediate bases controlled by others countries with its impressive capability, the bomber can carry up to 70,000 pounds of weapons payload and is equipped with versatile capabilities to deliver munitions at various target ranges.

The Strat Fortress made its maiden flight in April 1952 and entered service less than 3 years later in February 1955, due to its enormous size, its length is 159 feet 4 inches and it has a wingspan of 185 feet and the fact that cannot be described as an attractive aircraft quickly earned the nickname of the big, fat, ugly guy. A total of 744 B52s were produced in Seattle Washington and Witchita Kansas culminating in the B-52H model last delivered in 1962. There are currently 76 in the US Air Force inventory. The B-52, an aircraft Long-standing in the US Air Force, it has maintained its importance through continuous upgrades.

A modernization effort has begun focused on replacing the original 1960s Pratt and Whitney tf33 engines with new F-130 engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce. This $2.6 billion initiative known as the commercial engine replacement program aims to convert the B-52h into the B52 J. The Air Force expects flight testing for the first B-52 J to begin in late 2028. This modernization effort is not limited to engine upgrades. The v52 will also receive new radar systems. Communications and navigation equipment and weapons that guarantee their credibility and capacity well into the 2050s.