The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy first flew on 30 June 1968 and entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1970. With a maximum payload of 130 tons and the ability to carry outsized cargo like main battle tanks, helicopters, and even smaller aircraft whole, the C-5 remains the largest military transport in the Western world. The C-5M Super Galaxy modernization program, completed in 2018, replaced the original TF39 engines with GE CF6-80C2 turbofans, extending the fleet's service life to 2040 and beyond. On 15 September 2009, a C-5M set 41 world records for heavy-lift aviation in a single flight, demonstrating that strategic airlift remains the backbone of American global power projection.

The Soviet response, the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, was no less ambitious. First flown on 26 December 1982, the Ruslan can carry up to 150,000 kg (330,693 lb) in its cavernous titanium-floored hold, and on 26 July 1985 it lifted an absolute-record payload of 171,219 kg (377,473 lb) to 10,750 metres. The An-124's cargo compartment is roughly 20 percent larger by volume than the C-5's, and its kneeling multi-strut landing gear allows it to swallow main battle tanks, locomotives, and even Airbus wings whole. The two giants have never faced each other in combat, but they compete daily on the charter heavy-lift market — moving the impossible, one outsized load at a time.