Exhilarating footage of two C-17s doing some extremely low level flying

Most people would consider themselves lucky if they managed to see one C-17 jet flying at low altitude.

This photographer was able to see two.

And when we say ‘low’, we mean really low.

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The pictures and videos of the C-17s flying at low altitude, almost close to the ground, were taken by Mike Henry, a talented photographer who clearly loves fighter jets and military aircraft in general.

His Instagram account is a festival of fighter jets, and that’s where images of these C-17s come from.

Technically, this isn’t a fighter jet, it is actually a large military transport aircraft developed by Boeing, in partnership with McDonnell Douglas, for the US Air Force (USAF).

The Globemaster is extremely large, with a wingspan of 169 feet.

Interestingly, despite its size, the C-17 is designed to take off from narrow and short runways. It can even take from unpaved runways.

After the first flight in 1991, the C-17 Globemaster III – to give it the full name – remained in production for 24 years.

It was discontinued in 2015, with only 279 units built.

We should also point out that the plane was discontinued, but not retired.

The C-17, just like other military aircraft that have been around for a while such as the B-2, is still in service.

As you can imagine, it’s enormously expensive.

According to a report shared by the USAF, each unit cost an average of $202 million.

And there’s more.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent agency that essentially keeps track of how taxpayers’ dollars are spent, reports a total cost of approximately $31.2 billion for the C-17 program.

With 157 units (out of 279 built) still in service, that number is likely to go up with maintenance and pilot training programs.