The C-17 formally entered USAF service on 17 January 1995. On 15 September 1991, roughly one year behind schedule, the first C-17 performed its maiden flight. Development was protracted by a series of design issues, causing the company to incur a loss of nearly US$1.5 billion on the program's development phase. Compared to the YC-15, the redesigned airlifter differed in having swept wings, increased size, and more powerful engines. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. The C-17 is based upon the YC-15, a smaller prototype airlifter designed during the 1970s. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. The McDonnell Douglas/ Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas.
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