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Nato consortium purchases Boeing C-17s |
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Thursday, 02 October 2008 |
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A Nato consortium has agreed to acquire three Boeing C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets.
An international consortium consisting of ten North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members and Partnership for Peace members Sweden and Finland has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase three Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs
The long-range cargo jets mark the first major defence purchase by Nato in some 30 years. Under the terms of the agreement, two airlifters will be purchased directly from Boeing while a third will be provided by the US Air Force.
All three C-17s will be assigned to Nato's Heavy Airlift Wing and jointly operated by nations from an air base in Hungary. Delivery of the first aircraft is expected to take place in spring 2009.
The countries participating in Nato's Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) programme are Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and the US.
Peter Flory, Nato assistant general secretary for defence investment, said: "The SAC will provide an important new capability to address the critical alliance need for strategic airlift to support operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
This month, the Boeing Company announced that it has delivered the first Apache Longbow Crew Trainer to the Kuwait Air Force.
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