Most of the military transport aircraft that equip the Asia's air forces consist of American Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the various Russian Antonov transporters and the Vietnam War-era de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou. Many of these aircraft are more than 30 years old and need replacing immediately. Production of both the Transall and Caribou ended years ago, leaving only two western mainstream military transports in production: the C-130J version of the Hercules, a 50 year-old design which has been substantially updated, but whose size and payload capability are largely unchanged, and the much larger and more expensive Boeing C-17. In today's economic climate, it is recognised that the armed forces need the most cost-effective means of deploying their men and machines. Here, ADJ briefly surveys some of the tactical transports or airlift available.
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