How US Legacy Carriers Fly For The Pentagon: The Civil Reserve Air Fleet Explained – Simple Flying

How US Legacy Carriers Fly For The Pentagon: The Civil Reserve Air Fleet Explained  Simple Flying

US carriers like United, Delta, American, and others offer a massive surge capacity boost in the event of emergencies. In the event of a conflict, the United States can call on its massive Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to support efforts. This includes airliners from all of the major legacy US airlines. These are contractually obligated to support the United States Department of Defense airlift needs if required. The CRAF was founded by the Defense Production Act of 1950, which gave POTUS broad authorities for prioritization and allocation of industrial base resources, including commercial airliners. The intention was to establish national preparedness programs to allow the country to respond to both domestic emergencies and international threats.

This is not unique to the US; the Soviet Union even went so far as to design commercial airliners with secondary military uses in mind. Today, many countries maintain capable programs that allow the government to call up commercial assets in emergencies, including the UK, China, Russia, and many others. Here is what to know about how US commercial airlines participate in the CRAF. The US Air Force says that the Civil Reserve Air Fleet is a "unique and significant part" of the country's air mobility resources. Selected aircraft from US-based airliners are committed to augmenting the military's airlift requirements during emergencies. The CRAF