Aviacion

02/12/2008
Boeing and NATO in conversations for the C-17

Boeing announced that the NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA) general manager, on behalf of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) nations, has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the U.S. government for the acquisition of two Boeing C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets. The agreement follows NATO`s Oct. 1 announcement that the 12 SAC nations had formally agreed to move forward with the acquisition of C-17s, which will address national requirements for strategic airlift.
Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and NAMA, two of the advanced airlifters would be purchased from Boeing, while a third would be provided by the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft would be assigned to SAC`s Heavy Airlift Wing and jointly operated by the nations from Pápa Air Base, Hungary.
Each participating nation would pay for a portion of a C-17 rather than an entire aircraft, allowing them to share a pooled fleet. The 12 nations participating in the SAC Program are Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States.
The C-17 fleet will allow each nation to meet its airlift requirements to support sovereign and multinational mission requirements. NATO does not currently own a heavy airlift capability and frequently contracts with nations such as the United States and Russia for assistance with its heavy airlift requirements.

Source: Boeing