“Based on the progress of the program, the budget will likely continue to be replenished. And the $48 million is just the initial investment,” the source from the US Air Force said. The US program to use rockets to deliver cargo on Earth was judged to be unfeasible. According to General Stephen R. Lyons – Commander of the US Transport Command (US TransCom), the use of missiles to transport goods has many advantages compared to the traditional way of using transport aircraft. Using rockets without a chain of aerial refueling aircraft to support the mission; Safe and secret, the opponent has very little chance of shooting down, not having to notify the host country when flying over like how with transport aircraft. The commander of US TransCom confirmed that this is a potential program and that the US Army is working with a team of experts from billionaire Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to research and build a rocket that can fly. deliver weapons, military equipment to any place on Earth in less than 1 hour. According to the plan, the initial tests to test the principle will be carried out as soon as 2021. SpaceX has previously demonstrated the ability to land vertically and reuse boosters for its Falcon 9 system on mobile landing sites at sea. But the aerospace technology company has never landed a full payload rocket, and the proposed new rocket will carry four times as much cargo as these rocket flights have tested. There are two possible modes of transport that will be explored – cargo originating from a space base on the US mainland to overseas, or pre-sourcing on a spacecraft operating in orbit. and cargo can quickly leave orbit and land when needed. In partnership with industry, the U.S. Army could develop a prototype of such a space vehicle within the next 5-10 years, which could be used by TransCom to supplement air-to-air logistics operations. sea ​​and on land, including humanitarian assistance somewhere around the globe. TransCom will also have to deal with doctrinal, diplomatic, regulatory and organizational issues to facilitate the standardization of high-frequency launches. If successful, the US will revolutionize the transportation of goods. However, as soon as the US announced the program, the military community of this country pointed out a series of insurmountable difficulties. In terms of technical factors, rockets can only be launched when the weather conditions are relatively good; Poor weather can cause delays lasting up to a week. So a trip that is counted as lasting less than an hour will require significantly longer preparation time. The next problem is cost. According to calculations, a SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft with a capacity of 25 tons has a launch cost of $ 28 million. While the 12-hour flight from California to Japan on a C-17 Globemaster III costs $312,000, the cost doubles if the plane flies home to buy more equipment. By best estimates, it costs four times more to ship by rocket than to send the same amount of cargo by plane. However, cost is not everything, especially when hostilities are raging.

The warship INS Kolkata of the Indian Navy transported 40 tons of liquid oxygen, oxygen tanks, and oxygen concentrators from Kuwait and Qatar to the port of Mangalore (ANI). Until the morning of May 10, transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force had made 534 flights across the country transporting 336 oxygen tanks with a total capacity of 6,420 tons and other medical supplies and equipment. This emergency air bridge connects 22 cities in India, helping to relieve the need for medical oxygen for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The Indian Air Force has also made 84 flights abroad, receiving and transporting 81 cryogenic oxygen tanks with a total capacity of 1,407 tons along with empty oxygen tanks, oxygen generators– xy and Zeolite (a compound to make oxygen). India has ordered or received gifts of these devices and materials from Singapore, Dubai, Thailand, UK, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Indonesia and Israel. The Indian Navy also launched an emergency transport operation called ‘Samudra Setu II’, aiming to bring essential medical goods home as quickly as possible. Seven ships of this country’s Navy are being mobilized to carry out the work. The Indian Air Force has also established an essential medical supplies coordination committee to maintain information continuity and reduce time delays in the distribution of relief supplies from abroad.

The US military transport aircraft C-130H Hercules

In order to strengthen the air force, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced that the country’s air force will receive five US Lockheed C-130H Hercules military transport aircraft and accompanying technical equipment.

An agreement between the US and Polish governments for the supply of five C-130H aircraft was signed on April 12, 2021.

This deal is delivered through a special partnership program. All five aircraft will be delivered to Poland this month.

The contract is worth $ 60 million, but Poland will pay only $ 14.3 million to the US side. With this money, it will not be enough for the Pentagon to maintain the annual maintenance, maintenance, repair, and replenishment of equipment, so the US military has considered the possibility of early handover to Poland. to reduce costs.

Currently, all five of these aircraft have been stored at the facilities of preservation group No. 309, on the payroll of the US Air Force located at Davis Montana Air Base in Arizona.

The US military transport aircraft C-130H Hercules

The C-130H aircraft that the United States intended to deliver to Poland were produced in 1985 and the US Air Force closed in 2017.

Poland chose 5 out of 20 proposed. The first Hercules will arrive in Poland in late 2021 and the last will be delivered in 2024.

C-130 Hercules aircraft has 4 propeller engines, wingspan of 40 m, length more than 29 m, height of nearly 12 m, can fly in all weather conditions, maximum flight speed is 370 km /H.

The Polish Air Force uses the aircraft, for missions such as military transport, paratroop deployment, reconnaissance, maritime patrol, aerial refueling and combat.

The C-130H Hercules aircraft will replace four C-130E aircraft operating in the Polish air force since the 1970s.