The Quest for Relevant Air Power

60 │ POST–COLD WAR CHALLENGES
Courtesy US Air Force
C-5 Galaxy. A USAF ground and air crew loads a US Army CH-47D
Chinook helicopter into a C-5 Galaxy aircraft at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in
August 2008.
of lifting nearly every bulky piece of equipment in service with the
respective armed forces. 291 In contrast, Western European armed
forces did not require these capabilities since they were supposed
to fight “in place.” 292
Yet after the Cold War, with a significant increase in out-of-area
operations, European air forces have suffered from a shortage in
strategic airlift capacities. To partially bridge this capability gap,
the ubiquitous C-130 and C-160 have been used in the intertheatre
airlift role. Even at the end of the 1990s, Western Europe
did not own a single military wide-body, long-range strategic
transport aircraft capable of lifting a main battle tank. 293
Current European requirements actually blur the dividing lines
between tactical and strategic airlift. The A400M programme aims
at a military transport aircraft capable of lifting 30 tons for approximately
4,500 kilometers (km) and 20 tons for 6,400 km while
at the same time offering similar tactical performance to a C-130
Hercules. Moreover, its cargo bay is expected to accommodate
bulky vehicles such as medium-sized helicopters. Six European air
forces originally ordered 170 aircraft. 294 Though critics argue that
the A400M is not really a strategic transport aircraft, it is going to
significantly enhance European intertheatre airlift capacities. 295