A U.S. Air Force airlift wing executed the largest-recorded aerial transport of around 50 metric tons of lethal narcotics for destruction.
433rd Airlift Wing Reserve airmen, alongside Drug Enforcement Administration personnel, used the force’s largest and heaviest aircraft to remove 23 pallets with an estimated value of $5 billion over the course of three days in Operation Burnout, according to a Tuesday release.
In mid-May, the wing airlifted the narcotics using a C-5M Super Galaxy from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, ahead of its transport to an incinerator facility in Indiana to be destroyed.
The release did not state which narcotic, or narcotics, was seized but did point out that this operation supported the DEA’s goals to protect American committees by keeping illegal substances such as fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine off the streets.
“We have to store this stuff once we seize it in an approved warehouse, but more stuff is always coming in,” Gerald Mapp, senior foreign integration advisor to the DEA for the Department of Defense, said in the release.
“You have to look at fentanyl as a major problem — one pill can kill you. Taking these drugs off the street protects the American public, and we couldn’t do this without the Air Force’s heavy airlift capabilities,” he continued, highlighting how recent environmental closures of major California incinerators left the DEA with growing stockpiles of seized narcotics.
If not for Air Force assistance, the DEA would have to drive the substances across several states. This in turn would take excessive manpower and time as well as increasing the possibility of security issues, like ambush, theft or logistical failure, the release says.
Joint Task Force North began planning the operation months ahead of time, examining cross-country flight paths, ground security protocols and the intricacies of hazardous cargo waivers.
Loadmasters and aerial port airmen from the 50th and 56th Aerial Port Squadrons, both located at March Air Reserve Base, assisted the DEA with packaging, sealing and loading the pallets, the release reads.
“We were able to put a call out to the whole enterprise to see who was willing to pick up this mission, and the 433rd answered the call,” Air Force Maj. Benjamin Sperring, air mobility chief for JTF North, said in the release.
“Having the C-5 gave us the capability of a larger aircraft, meaning we could fly more seized narcotics and make a bigger impact on the crime rates,” he continued. “The interagency collaboration to get these drugs absolutely destroyed has been fantastic.”
Lockheed Martin’s C-5M Super Galaxy is a transport aircraft and the largest aircraft in the force’s inventory, aimed at transporting cargo and personnel for the Defense Department. The aircraft has a cargo load ability of 281,001 pounds. Without aerial refueling, the C-5M can fly 2,150 nautical miles, offload and fly to another base 500 nautical miles away from the original location.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.
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