Operation Burnout: USAF C-5M Super Galaxy hauls $5bn drugs for destruction

On the 7th of June, the US Air Force Reserve Command revealed that it partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to haul $5 billion worth of seized drugs for destruction. These were transported from California to Ohio by a C-5M Super Galaxy.

Super Galaxy tasked with transporting seized narcotics

According to a new article published by the US Air Force, for three days (18th to 20th of May), the US Air Force’s 433rd Air Wing deployed a C-5M Super Galaxy to transport some 23 pallets (around 50 metric tons) of seized narcotics.

The drugs were transported from March Air Reserve Base in California to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in an interagency joint mission dubbed Operation Burnout. From there, it was taken to an incinerator in Indiana for final destruction.

The Air Force stated that the payload was valued at $5 billion and that moving the material by aeroplane overcomes the “significant security and logistical vulnerability” of moving it by land due to the risk of ambush, theft, and logistical failure.

Helping the DEA after Californian incinerators close

The airlift was in an effort to support the “DEA’s strategic goals to protect, prevent, and support American communities by keeping illicit substances like fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine permanently off the streets.”

The need to transport the narcotics to Indiana was the result of California aggressively phasing out its waste incinerators for environmental and policy reasons.

Two of the final Californian incinerators were the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility and the Covanta/Reworld Stanislaus, both of which shut down in 2024.

This has been driven by the state’s strict air quality regulations and laws pushing “zero-waste” goals. These have removed incentives for sending waste to incinerators and prioritised recycling, composting, and landfill.

Gerald Mapp, senior foreign integration advisor to the DEA for the Department of War, said, “We have to store this stuff once we seize it in an approved warehouse, but more stuff is always coming in.” This led to growing stockpiles.

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Air Force’s fleet of C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft

The USAF operates a fleet of 52 C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft. Include all the original C-5B aircraft re-engined and upgraded to the C-5M standard, as well as two original C-5A aircraft specially modified to carry bulky cargo. They are expected to remain in service until around 2045.

Except for a limited number of An-124s in Russian and Ukrainian service (via Antonov Airlines), these are the largest military transport aircraft in the world. They complement the USAF’s fleet of 222 smaller C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft.

While they are primarily tasked with servicing the requirements of the US military, they are also used for other missions.

The DEA said it wouldn’t have been able to transport the drugs without the “Air Force’s heavy airlift capabilities.”

Maj. Ryan Becker, 733rd Training Squadron, was the aircraft commander for the mission and said, “Our assets aren’t just used for war.”

He stressed the Air Force is also concerned with humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and missions that support partners in law enforcement. Becker noted, “The DEA, Coast Guard, and local law enforcement do all the hard work to get this stuff off the street.”

Featured Image: DVIDS