US military air cargo shifts from South Carolina to NJ and Delaware

AIR shipments bound for war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan will be sent from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Dover Air Force Base, Delaware instead of Charleston, South Carolina, the US Air Force has announced.

According to a report in New Jersey's Burlington County Times, the new arrangement will save time and money.

Next to the US Army base, Fort Dix, MacGuire has long served a military air cargo centre and is home to the 305th Air Mobility Wing and the 514th Air Mobility Wing, which comprises C-17 Globemaster III and KC-10 Extender aircraft. The C-17A is the Air Force's newest heavy airlifter, capable of delivering more 77 metric tons. Combined with the KC-10, the largest tanker aircraft in the USAF fleet, the C-17 can fly fuel anywhere in the world.

Delaware's Dover Air Force Base was the only base to operate the massive C-5 Galaxy, with two active flying squadrons. It is also the base for America's largest military mortuary.