A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned

transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes: * Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service * Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...

used to support

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ...

s by

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distan ...

ing troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to maintaining

supply line Supply may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as in confidenc ...

s to

forward base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine s ...

s that are difficult to reach by

ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...

or waterborne access, and can be used for both strategic and tactical missions. They are also often used for civilian

emergency relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actual ...

missions by transporting humanitarian aid.

Air frames

Fixed-wing

Fixed-wing transport aeroplanes are defined in terms of their range capability as

strategic airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...

tactical airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...

to reflect the needs of the land forces which they most often support. These roughly correspond to the commercial

flight length In aviation, the flight length refers to the distance of a flight. Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul by commercial airlines based on flight length, although there is no international standard definition an ...

distinctions:

Eurocontrol The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eu ...

defines short-haul routes as shorter than , long-haul routes as longer than and medium-haul between. The

military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common Glider (sailplane), gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the World War II, Second World Wa ...

is an unpowered tactical air transport which has been used in some campaigns to transport troops and/or equipment to the battle front.

Rotary wing

CH-53K King Stallion lifts a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

transport helicopters are used in places where the use of conventional aircraft is impossible. For example, the military transport helicopter is the primary transport asset of

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

deploying from LHDs and LHA. The landing possibilities of

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s are almost unlimited, and where landing is impossible, for example densely packed jungle, the ability of the helicopter to hover allows troops to deploy by

abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

and

roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around th ...

. Transport helicopters are operated in assault, medium and heavy classes.

Air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind ...

helicopters are usually the smallest of the transport types, and designed to move an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

squad or

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

and their equipment. Helicopters in the assault role are generally armed for self-protection both in transit and for suppression of the

landing zone In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.) In c ...

. This armament may be in the form of

door gunner A door gunner is a crewman tasked with firing and maintaining manually directed armament aboard a military helicopter. The actual role will vary depending on the task given on a particular mission. For certain aircraft a door gunner would use a ...

s, or the modification of the helicopter with stub wings and

pylon Pylon may refer to: Structures and boundaries * Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral * Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways * Pylon, an orange mar ...

s to carry

missile In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...

s and rocket pods. For example, the

Sikorsky S-70 The Sikorsky S-70 is an American medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the United States Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the UH-60 Black Hawk and spawning ...

, fitted with the ESSM (External Stores Support System), and the ''Hip E'' variant of the

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...

can carry as much disposable armament as some dedicated

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament the ...

s. Medium transport helicopters are generally capable of moving up to a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, secur ...

of infantry, or transporting

towed artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20 ...

or light vehicles either internally or as underslung roles. Unlike the assault helicopter they are usually not expected to land directly in a contested landing zone, but are used to reinforce and resupply landing zones taken by the initial assault wave. Examples include the unarmed versions of the Mil Mi-8,

Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter developed and initially produced by the French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactur ...

CH-46 Sea Knight The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Development of th ...

, and

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

. Heavy lift helicopters are the largest and most capable of the transport types, currently limited in service to the

CH-53 Sea Stallion The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States ...

and related

CH-53E Super Stallion The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavy-lift helicopter operated by the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80, it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, adding a seventh blade to the main rotor, ...

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, ...

Mil Mi-26 The Mil Mi-26 (russian: link=no, Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest and most p ...

, and

Aérospatiale Super Frelon Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

. Capable of lifting up to 80 troops and moving small

Armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured ca ...

s (usually as slung loads but also internally), these helicopters operate in the

tactical transport An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...

role in much the same way as small fixed wing

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

air-lifters. The lower speed, range and increased fuel consumption of helicopters are more than compensated by their ability to operate virtually anywhere.

Air frames

Fixed-wing

Rotary wing

Payload comparison

See also

References

Further reading