Tactical, yes -- a very good one too. Strategic, not really.

With a payload of 169,000 pounds (76,657 kilograms) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 feet (8,534 meters), , the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles. Its cruise speed is approximately 450 knots (.76 Mach). To compare, a KC-10 which is essentially a DC-10-30CF, was designed in the late 60s early 70s. The KC-10 can transport up to 75 people and nearly 170,000 pounds (76,560 kilograms) of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles (7,040 kilometers) unrefueled.

In other words, the KC-10 (DC-10), an airplane created 2 decades or so prior to the C-17, moves as much cargo (palletized) twice as far and does it flying .82M instead of .76M.


Source http://www.af.mil/factsheets/

-FATTY