C-17 Seeks An Honorable Discharge

September 19, 2009: The UAE (United Arab Emirates) has ordered four U.S. C-17 transports, and the first two were ordered as commercial (not military) aircraft. The second one to be delivered, arrived wearing commercial (not military) colors. The UAE uses its transports for peacekeeping and humanitarian work, as well as for supporting its military operations. This second C-17 is apparently going to do mostly civilian work. The UAE paid about $400 million for each of these C-17s, which included a lot of spare parts and maintenance services. The 290 ton C-17 is a four engine jet that can carry up to 100 tons of cargo. Boeing, the C-17 manufacturer, has been trying to find customers for a purely commercial version of the C-17, but so far has not been able to find enough customers.