The Loadstar's Journey

In 2039, the United States Air Force announced the Intercontinental Super Heavy Lift (ISHL) design competition. After the de facto cancellation of the Army Prepositioned Stock program, the USAF established that extreme heavy-lift capabilities were needed to rapidly deploy large quantities of bulk materials such as fuel, ammunition, armored vehicles, and prefabricated outbuildings to large bases for further distribution to nearby installations in the event of a large scale war. Coincidentally, Agropelter was conducting feasibility studies on a large cargo transport, for rare but large scale projects requiring massive long distance movements. Being able to internally fly large parts allowed more decentralized assembly for ultra large projects, and Agropelter's logistics subsidiary, Marine Cargo Resources (MCR), had also expressed interest in outsized cargo capabilities, with customers inquiring about flying cargo with similar constraints to those required by Agropelter.

The first "Loadstar" airframe was delivered to MCR in early 2044, and the USAF received the military variant for evaluation (later designated the C-73) near the end of 2044. The military variant featured more resilient electronics,  a refitted cargo bay, midair refueling capabilities, and slight performance improvements over MCR's civilian version. After beating out competing aircraft from Boeing and Northrop Grumman, three production C-73 airframes were ordered, with the first delivered in 2045, and the last two delivered in 2046. The USAF now uses their fleet to transport large payloads in one fell swoop, rather than requiring sometimes up to five C-5 Galaxy or eight C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The Loadstar's eight heavily modified GE9X engines place its cost per flight hour at only 35% higher than a single C-5, while carrying over 400% of the C-5's payload. Do the math.