Transport aircraft with the most thrust

8 of the 20 transport aircraft in the WeaponSpecs database publish a thrust figure. Ranked on the published number alone, highest first, with no weighting and no composite score. The 12 transport aircraft with no published figure are not ranked, absent data is never treated as a low value.

3 of the 8 entries below (Russia, China) rest on manufacturer or state claims with limited independent verification, marked † in the table. Treat their position in this ranking as directional, not tested.

Transport aircraft with the most thrust, ranked by published thrust
#	System	Thrust	Source
1	A330 MRTT Airbus Defence and Space	320 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-26
2	KC-46 Pegasus Boeing	275 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02
3	C-5M Super Galaxy Lockheed Martin	227 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02
4	C-17 Globemaster III Boeing	180 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02
5	Il-76MD-90A † Ilyushin	157 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02
6	Il-78M † Ilyushin	157 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02
7	Embraer C-390 Millennium Embraer Defense & Security	139 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-05
8	Y-20 † Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC)	138 kN	reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02

Compiled from public manufacturer, defense-ministry and reference sources. Published defense figures are approximations and are often stated under different conditions, so treat this ordering as directional rather than a tested result. A board is only generated where at least 5 systems in the class publish the figure. How we compile specs →

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Other transport aircraft rankings

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Thrust in other classes

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