Globemasters make dark descent as they land on dried-up desert lakebed at night

US Air Force Globemasters have headed to the desert to prove the versatility of the huge cargo plane - by carrying out a series of take-offs and landings on a dried-up riverbed at night.

Aircrews from 418th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Test Wing and the 911th Airlift Wing conducted the joint nighttime training exercise at Bicycle Lake Army Airfield at Fort Irwin in California.

The aim was to test their skills in an austere desert environment under the cover of darkness.

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The C-17 Globemaster III is in service with several other operators - including the Royal Air Force - and has been performing rapid and strategic delivery missions to main operating bases all over the world since 1995.

These include long-range and heavy lift strategic transport operations as well as humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.

The aircraft can carry troops, supplies and large equipment directly to small airfields - often in harsh terrain and unpredictable conditions.

In keeping with tradition, the Globemaster III is simply known as the Globemaster in RAF service.

Number 99 Squadron reformed at RAF Brize Norton to operate the aircraft, which rapidly became a stalwart and key enabler of the airbridge operation that sustained Operation Herrick in Afghanistan.

Over this period - and despite the demands of the conflict - the C-17 still managed to carry out humanitarian and operational commitments elsewhere.

May 2021 marked two decades since the first Globemaster arrived at RAF Brize Norton.

And in 2022, a Globemaster carried the body of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt ahead of the sovereign's state funeral in London.