A military airbase in Gloucestershire is really coming to life this week.

RAF Fairford is gearing up for the arrival of B-52 bombers on Friday, as well as planning for the arrival of more than 2,000 United States Air Force personnel and their families over the next few years.

And this morning, plane enthusiasts watched as a C-17 Globemaster landed at the Cotswolds base.

CC177 Globemaster III

You can see it arrive in the video at the top of the article.

It was captured on video by a member of the RAF Fairford Plane Spotters Group on Facebook and kindly shared with Gloucestershire Live.

C-17 Globemaster facts from RAF Fairford
Boeing C-17A Globemaster
  • NATO operates a fleet of three C-17 Globemaster transporters from Papa Air Base in Hungary, operated by the Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW).
  • The HAW is part of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) that provides its 12 member nations with the capability to transport cargo and personnel over long distances.
  • The C-17 is a four engine high-wing aircraft with a large cargo hold capable of holding a payload of 77 tonnes across continents.
  • The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area.
  • The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can transport litters and ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations when required.

What the RAF says about the C-17.

The RAF says the C-17 is a long-range heavy-lift strategic transport aircraft that can operate close to a potential area of operations for combat, peacekeeping or humanitarian missions worldwide.

It adds the C-17 is capable of rapid, strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases anywhere in the world.

A C-17 Globemaster at RAF Fairford last year

It can transport Chinook helicopters, military vehicles and other heavy items of specialist kit.

It can transport 100,000lb (45,360kg) of freight more than 4,500nm (8,334km) while flying at altitudes above 35,000ft. 

The aircraft’s design enables high-angle, steep approaches at relatively slow speeds, allowing it to operate into small, austere airfields and onto runways as short as 3,500ft long and just 90ft wide.

Boeing C-17A Globemaster

•             Powerplant four 40,400lb st (179.90kN) Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans

•             Length overall: 174ft (53.04m)

•             Height overall: 55ft 1in (16.79m)

•             Wingspan: 169ft 9in (51.74m)

•             Wing area: 3,800sqft (353.03m2)

•             Maximum take-off weight: 585,000lb (265,350kg)

•             Cruising speed at 28,000ft: 450kt (833km/h)

•             Range with 100,000lb (45,360kg) payload: more than 4,500nm (8,334km)

•             Service ceiling: 45,000ft

•             Maximum payload (2.5g load factor): 169,000lb (76,655kg)