View source for Civil Reserve Air Fleet

{{Short description|Non-military aircraft contracting with the US military to act as emergency transports}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Civil Reserve Air Fleet
[[File:Air Mobility Command.svg|center|60px]]
|image=
|image_size=300
|caption=
|dates=1952–present
|country={{country|United States}}
|allegiance=
|branch=
|type=
|role=
|size=450 aircraft as of 2022
|command_structure=[[Air Mobility Command]]
|garrison=
<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol=[[File:Civil Reserve Air Fleet emblem.png|92px]]
|identification_symbol_label=CRAF emblem
}}
The '''Civil Reserve Air Fleet''' (CRAF) is part of the [[United States]]'s mobility resources. Selected [[aircraft]] from U.S. [[airlines]], contractually committed to Civil Reserve Air Fleet, support [[United States Department of Defense]] airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of available military aircraft.

==History==
[[File:Troops of the 502nd Supply and Transportation Battalion arrive by a Civil Reserve Air Fleet aircraft to participate in the exercise Reforger 1980 - DPLA - 67de74692fd2e15feb92263d7d12aa4b.jpeg|thumb|Troops of the 502nd Supply and Transportation Battalion arrive by a Civil Reserve Air Fleet aircraft to participate in the exercise Reforger 1980. The airplane on this photo was a Boeing 747 of [[Trans International Airlines|Transamerica Airlines]].]]
In 1952, after aircraft were [[commandeer]]ed for the [[Berlin Airlift]], the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was created as a more orderly way of serving emergency military needs.<ref name="CRAFCreated">{{Cite news |last=Castronuovo |first=Celine |date=2021-08-22 |title=Pentagon looking to enlist commercial airlines to help in Afghanistan evacuation |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pentagon-looking-to-enlist-commercial-airlines-to-help-in-afghanistan-evacuation/ar-AANAgEq |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823034951/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pentagon-looking-to-enlist-commercial-airlines-to-help-in-afghanistan-evacuation/ar-AANAgEq |archive-date=2021-08-23 |via=[[MSN.com]]}}</ref><ref name="CNBC">{{Cite news |last=Josephs |first=Leslie |last2=Cullen |first2=Terri |date=22 August 2021 |title=Pentagon orders U.S. airlines to help fly Afghanistan evacuees |language=en |publisher=[[CNBC]] |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/22/biden-administration-activates-civil-reserve-air-fleet.html}}</ref>

The Fleet has two main segments: international and national (domestic).

CRAF has been activated three times. The first activation was as part of [[Gulf War#Operation Desert Shield|Operation Desert Shield]]. The second was once as part of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. In 2021 it was activated as part of [[Operation Allies Refuge]] in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schmitt|first=Eric|title=The U.S. orders six commercial airlines to help transport Afghan evacuees|language=en-us|work=The New York Times|date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/world/asia/afghan-refugees-commercial-airlines.html}}</ref><ref name="Hill2021">{{Cite news |last=Balluck |first=Kyle |last2=Schnell |first2=Mychael |date=22 August 2021 |title=Pentagon orders civilian airlines to assist in Afghanistan evacuation |language=en |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/568900-pentagon-activates-civil-reserve-air-fleet-requests-civilian-airlines}}</ref><ref name="craf_act">{{Cite magazine |last=Bertoletti |first=Marlo |date=2021-08-23 |title=Civil Reserve Air Fleet Activated to Fly out Afghanistan Evacuees |url=https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/craf-activated-afghanistan/ |url-status=dead |magazine=Airways |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904114350/https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/craf-activated-afghanistan/ |archive-date=2021-09-04 |access-date=2021-09-04}}</ref>

==Membership commitment and requirements==
{{more footnotes|section|date=October 2023}}
The airlines contractually pledge aircraft to the various segments of Civil Reserve Air Fleet, ready for activation when needed.<ref name="CRAFfacts">{{Cite web |date=January 2023 |title=Civil Reserve Air Fleet |url=https://www.amc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/144025/civil-reserve-air-fleet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023222639/https://www.amc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/144025/civil-reserve-air-fleet/ |archive-date=2023-10-23 |access-date=2023-10-23 |publisher=[[Air Mobility Command]] |language=en-US}}</ref> To provide incentives for civil carriers to commit aircraft to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program and to assure the United States of adequate airlift reserves, the government makes peacetime Department of Defense (DoD) airlift business available to [[civilian]] airlines that offer aircraft to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.<ref name="CRAFfacts" /> DoD offers business through the International Airlift Services. For fiscal year 2005, the guaranteed portion of the contract was $418 million. [[Air Mobility Command]] (AMC) previously reported that throughout fiscal 2005 it planned to award more than $1.5 billion in additional business beyond the guaranteed portion of the contract.

To join the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, carriers must maintain a minimum commitment of 40% of its Civil Reserve Air Fleet capable passenger and cargo fleet.<ref name="CRAFfacts" /> Aircraft committed must be US registered, and carriers must commit and maintain at least four complete [[aircrew member|crews]] for each aircraft.

==Fleet==
{{As of|2022|9}}, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet consists of 450 aircraft from 25 airlines. This breaks down to 413 aircraft for international operations, with 268 considered to be in the "long-range international" category and 145 in the "short-range international" section, as well as 37 aircraft in the "national" segment. These numbers are subject to change on a monthly basis.<ref name="CRAFfacts" />

== Contracts ==
The U.S. Department of Defense regularly issues contracts and task orders within the Civil Air Reserve Fleet program. For example, on 1 October 2018, U.S. Transportation Command issued millions of dollars of task orders to members of the Civil Air Reserve Fleet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contracts for October 1, 2018 |url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1650440// |access-date=2020-09-27 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Defense]] |language=en-US}}</ref> On 1 October 2019, U.S. Transportation Command again issued millions of dollars of task orders to members of the Civil Air Reserve Fleet for charter airlift services.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contracts for October 1, 2019 |url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1976774// |access-date=2020-09-27 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Defense]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Less than one year's worth of Civil Air Reserve Fleet operations (18 November 2015 through 30 September 2016) was worth roughly $357 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contracts for November 18, 2015 |url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/630396// |access-date=2020-09-27 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Defense]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Membership ==

The following air carriers are members of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet {{as of|lc=y|January 2023}}:<ref name="CRAFfacts" />

=== Long-range international ===

*[[ABX Air]]
*[[Air Transport International]]
*[[American Airlines]]
*[[Amerijet International]]
*[[Atlas Air]]
*[[Delta Air Lines]]
*[[FedEx Express]]
*[[Hawaiian Airlines]]
*[[Kalitta Air]]
*[[National Airlines (N8)|National Airlines]]
*[[Omni Air International]]
*[[Polar Air Cargo]]
*[[United Airlines]]
*[[UPS Airlines]]
*[[Western Global Airlines]]
*[[Southern Air Cargo]]

=== Short-range international ===

*[[ABX Air]]
*[[Alaska Airlines]]
*[[Amerijet International]]
*[[Delta Air Lines]]
*[[Eastern Airlines]]
*[[JetBlue Airways]]
*[[Lynden Air Cargo]]
*[[National Airlines (N8)|National Airlines]]
*[[Northern Air Cargo]]
*[[Sun Country Airlines]]
*[[United Airlines]]

=== Domestic ===

*[[Allegiant Air]]
*[[Everts Air Cargo]]
*[[Southwest Airlines]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{US Air Force|article=Civil Reserve Air Fleet|url=https://www.amc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/144025/civil-reserve-air-fleet/}}

==External links==

* [https://www.transportation.gov/mission/administrations/intelligence-security-emergency-response/civil-reserve-airfleet-allocations Civil Reserve Air Fleet Program at the U.S. Department of Transportation]
* [https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104583/civil-reserve-air-fleet/ Civil Reserve Air Fleet at the U.S. Air Force]

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Aviation in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of Defense agencies]]