The RAAF has commissioned a C-17 cargo compartment trainer – or CCT – a training device that replicates the cargo hold of its C-17 airlifters, at the aircraft’s Amberley home base.
The trainer features a 6.82m long by 5.49m wide cargo bay, a functioning loading ramp, loadmaster’s station and other cargo systems as found on the C-17.
“Much like the real C-17A, the CCT can accommodate payloads ranging from 18 pallets of cargo to helicopters and an M1A1 Abrams tank,” said Warren King, CEO of the Defence Material Organisation, whose AIR 8000 project team was responsible for the trainer’s acquisition.
The CCT can also be used for load clearance and engineering assessment trials.
“Conducting engineering assessments on the CCT and away from the real aircraft will effectively allow us to more easily clear loads for carriage,” King said.
It is the first C-17 CCT to be installed outside the US.
