WindRunner: The largest cargo aircraft ever to be built, capable of carrying six Chinooks
The team developing the largest cargo aircraft ever built has said that its military capabilities could be a game-changer.
The Radia WindRunner is so vast that it can carry six fully constructed Chinook helicopters.
It is 109 metres long with a payload bay capacity roughly 12 times that of a Boeing 747.
Mel Johnson, Radia's vice president of regulatory affairs, said: "It is a very remarkable scale.
"There's things that can be moved that currently are difficult to move because of volume restrictions, and while typically you think about moving payload weight around and how many C-17s or C-5s to carry a certain amount of mass, oftentimes the missions are really limited by volume.
"A good example of that is the movement of Chinooks.
"You don't weight out with a load of Chinooks, but you certainly volume out, so having this extra volume provides the real transformational capability that can be utilised by the military."
Aircraft can roll off ready for combat
This is Radia's first go at designing and building an aircraft, as the company primarily works in the energy sector, and it was developed to transport wind turbines.
The current heavy lifters in the Royal Air Force, like the Globemaster C-17 III, which has a 52-metre wingspan, often require disassembled cargo, meaning a Chinook can only be on board once its blades are removed.
However, the WindRunner's design can hold four F-35 fighter jets without removing their wings; consequently, the aircraft can roll off onto the tarmac ready for combat.
Thad Bibb, the company's vice president of business development, defence, said: "We like to say roll on ready and roll off ready.
"C-17 could carry one Chinook at a time max, and that's with the blades off and turbine off at the top right.
"To disassemble that for C-17 or for C5 takes about two days to take apart, takes a team of 12, about five days to put it back together, plus you've got to do a functional check flight."
He went on: "When I was lieutenant colonel, we used to deliver the Chinooks directly into Afghanistan from Spain, and we've moved 100 helicopters in, and you can imagine the difference of carrying six Chinooks on a WindRunner versus one on the C-17.
"And then on the WindRunner, you don't have to disassemble it, you can leave it fully assembled, so some big advantages there."
Ideal for Nato
Despite its vast size, the WindRunner does not need a massive, vulnerable air base.
Thus, it is ideal for Nato's agile combat employment strategy and for delivering vital aircraft and military hardware to remote forward positions where they're needed.
US defence chiefs are paying close attention to the concept, given that the last C-17 was constructed more than ten years ago.
With aircraft carriers, the preferred way to transport combat-ready aerial assets over huge distances, can the WindRunner offer a faster alternative?
"Just to be able to have equipment ready and be able to be useful, having that faster turnaround time can increase the capability of the forces," Mr Johnson added.
"It helps in the perspective of with the existing material be more effective.
"Get the things back and forth and don't get it logged you know stuck in transit."
Radia is aiming for the first flight of this giant to take place in 2029.
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