• The Air Force is using a modified shipping container to transport COVID-19 patients worldwide.
  • The shipping container was designed to move patients without infecting the crews of the transport planes carrying them.
  • Each shipping container can carry up to eight patients on stretchers.

The U.S. Air Force is using modified shipping containers to safely transport people with the coronavirus from one location to another. The containers are designed to carry patients on stretchers or on foot, and are loaded into the back of heavy transport planes. A specially designed air filtration system ensures the virus does not escape the container to pose a danger to the air crew.

us airmen converse inside a negatively pressurized conex prototype during in flight testing on a c 17 globemaster iii, april 30, 2020 the npc was rapidly developed and designed to fit inside both c 5 and c 17 aircraft to enable safe transport of up to 28 passengers, as well as teams of medical professionals to medical facilities around the globe us air force photo by staff sgt chris drzazgowski
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Drzazgowski
Air Force personnel inside a NPC while it undergoes in-flight testing.

The containers, known as Negatively Pressurized Conexes (NPC), are based on standard Conex (Container Express) shipping containers used to ship goods worldwide. The boxes are modified with safety seats allowing them to carry up to 28 passengers or 23 ambulatory patients, complete with seatbelts. Alternatively, an NPC can carry eight patients on litters. The NPC also includes a special chamber where medical personnel can safely change into and out of personal protective gear.

Once embarked, the NPC is then loaded onto a C-5 or C-17 transport and then flown to the destination. The larger, jet-powered transports can carry two NPCs each while the smaller C-130J Hercules can carry a smaller version, NPC Lite.

a negatively pressured conex sits on a k loader after 721st aerial port squadron personnel unloaded it from a c 17 at ramstein air base, germany, june 24, 2020 the npc is a more durable system than the existing transport isolation system the npc is an infectious disease containment unit designed to minimize contamination risk to aircrew and medical attendants, while allowing in flight medical care for patients afflicted by diseases like covid 19  us air force photo by senior airman milton hamilton
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton
NPC preparing to load onto a C-17 transport.

NPCs use a special negative air pressure system to keep crews transporting the containers safe. Under normal circumstances, contaminated air from a Conex housing coronavirus patients could leak out, presenting a risk to the flight crew. Negative air pressure systems work by continuously pulling air in from the outside. The system pumps back out but not before running it through a filter first.

The Air Force built the system after it realized it would need a system in case it needed to safely move people infected with the coronavirus. Stars and Stripes reports the service originally used a similar system, the Transport Isolation System, in April to move three government contractors in Afghanistan infected with the virus to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Ramstein is the U.S. military’s main medical hub in Europe, and the base’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is capable of treating most sick and injured U.S. personnel. Very badly injured troops are often flown from Landstuhl to the continental U.S.

a negatively pressured conex sits on a us air force c 17 globemaster iii aircraft at ramstein air base, germany, june 24, 2020 the npc is the latest isolated containment chamber developed to transport covid 19 patients, replacing the existing transport isolation system the npc is an infectious disease containment unit designed to minimize contamination risk to aircrew and medical attendants, while allowing in flight medical care for patients afflicted by diseases like covid 19 us air force photo by senior airman milton hamilton
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton
A NPC loaded inside a C-17 Globemaster III transport. The entrance to the container is visible.

The Transport Isolation System was built to only carry two to four patients at a time, and the Air Force decided it would need a way to carry even more patients. According to the Air Force, NPCs went from a “back of the napkin idea” to being ready for use in just 88 days.

The NPC completed its first real mission on July 1, transporting twelve patients from an undisclosed location somewhere in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility to Landstuhl. According to the U.S. Air Force, the aeromedical evacuation mission took 22 hours to complete. The services has transported more than 100 patients over 18 missions.

Source: Stars and Stripes

Headshot of Kyle Mizokami
Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.