A US Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft at Seoul Air Base on October 17, 2023 in Seongnam, South Korea. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto / Chris Jung
*This story has been corrected to say there is one US plane coming, not two.
The United States Air Force's largest plane is to land at Auckland's Whenuapai air base with special cargo.
A C-5M Super Galaxy will touch down in New Zealand on Wednesday to deliver components for a new C-130J Hercules simulator.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 67.89 metres and a maximum takeoff weight of just over 381 tonnes.
In December the last of five new C-130J Hercules arrived in New Zealand to replace the C-130H Hercules that had been the workhorse of the Royal New Zealand Air Force for 60 years.
The simulator will train air and ground crews operating the new planes and provide a safe and secure space for pilot training.
An integrated project team, led by the Ministry of Defence, had been working with the US Air Force, Canadian technology company CAE USA and Lockheed Martin to deliver the simulator to the New Zealand Defence Force
The simulator parts will be unloaded on Thursday, with a second delivery expected in due course. NZDF said the technology would be ready for use next year.
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