Two of US Air Force's largest planes set for special cargo delivery in Auckland
Photo:
AFP / NurPhoto / Chris Jung
Two of the United States Air Force's largest planes will land in Auckland's Whenuapai air base over the coming days with special cargo.
A C-5M Super Galaxy will touch down in New Zealand on Wednesday and another one will land tomorrow to deliver components for a new C-130J Hercules simulator.
The aircraft have a wingspan of 67.89 metres and have a maximum takeoff weight of just over 381 tonnes.
In December the last of five new C-130J Hercules arrived in New Zealand
to replace the C-130H Hercules
that had been the workhorse of the Royal New Zealand Air Force for 60 years.
The simulator will train air and ground crews operating the new planes and provide a safe and secure space for pilot training.
An integrated project team, led by the Ministry of Defence, had been working with the US Air Force, Canadian technology company CAE USA and Lockheed Martin to deliver the simulator to the New Zealand Defence Force
The simulator parts will be unloaded on Thursday, with the technology ready for use next year.
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