Military

Military Aviation

Military planes carry out special duties for a nation's armed forces. Some military planes are special models of transports or light planes that the armed forces have bought from aircraft manufacturers. For example, the United States armed forces use special models of the Boeing 707 as troop transports and as tankers for refuelling other planes in the air.

Many other kinds of military planes are specially made. Most of these planes are bombers or fighters. But some of them are designed for other tasks. For example, the Lockheed C-5a Galaxy was designed as a military transport. This enormous plane can carry two tanks weighing 45 metric tons (50 short tons) or 350 troops. Another Lockheed plane, the SR-71A, was specially designed to survey enemy forces and installations. It carries cameras and other equipment. The SR-71A flies as high as 30,000 meters (100,000 feet) and has a speed of more than 3,200 k/m (3,200 m/h), which makes it one of the fastest planes in the world.