The actual activation of the reserve
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 4:31 am
As of this month, 24 carriers are enrolled in the CRAF program and have committed 450 aircraft in total. Of these planes, 413 are in the international segment, while the remaining 37 are in the domestic, or domestic, segment. “These numbers are subject to change on a monthly basis,” the Air Force says in its official fact sheet, which also includes a full list of participating companies. These aircraft are also free to exercise their usual commercial functions.
fleet is divided into three stages, the first, which is now mobilized to support evacuations from Afghanistan, being sized to respond to regional contingencies. Activation of the two second stages would increase the overall number of aircraft available and they are structured around the expected demands of a major theater war and general national mobilization, respectively.
“When informed of the call, the carrier’s response time to get job function email database their plane ready for a CRAF mission is 24, 48 or 72 hours depending on the CRAF stage activated,” according to the Air Force. TRANSCOM, through the US Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC), oversees the employment of activated CRAF aircraft, but individual carriers remain responsible for the operation and maintenance of their aircraft.
This reserve fleet has only been activated twice for live operations since its inception, although CRAF aircraft have also participated in exercises over the years. The first case occurred in 1990 in support of the Gulf War, while the second happened in 2003 as part of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Troops from the U.S. Army’s 24th (Mechanized) Infantry Division board a Civil Reserve Air Fleet flight to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.
Members of the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division prepare to disembark from a CRAF flight in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
fleet is divided into three stages, the first, which is now mobilized to support evacuations from Afghanistan, being sized to respond to regional contingencies. Activation of the two second stages would increase the overall number of aircraft available and they are structured around the expected demands of a major theater war and general national mobilization, respectively.
“When informed of the call, the carrier’s response time to get job function email database their plane ready for a CRAF mission is 24, 48 or 72 hours depending on the CRAF stage activated,” according to the Air Force. TRANSCOM, through the US Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC), oversees the employment of activated CRAF aircraft, but individual carriers remain responsible for the operation and maintenance of their aircraft.
This reserve fleet has only been activated twice for live operations since its inception, although CRAF aircraft have also participated in exercises over the years. The first case occurred in 1990 in support of the Gulf War, while the second happened in 2003 as part of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Troops from the U.S. Army’s 24th (Mechanized) Infantry Division board a Civil Reserve Air Fleet flight to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.
Members of the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division prepare to disembark from a CRAF flight in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.