LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 17, 2009Â — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today delivered to the NATO Airlift Management Organization (NAMO) a second C-17 Globemaster III that will support NAMO’s 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) initiative. The delivery took place at Boeing’s final assembly facility in Long Beach.
The advanced airlifter, known as SAC 02, is the second of three C-17s that will be assigned to SAC’s Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) in western Hungary this year and will support International Security Assistance Force operations in Afghanistan as well as the airlift requirements of SAC member nations. Boeing will deliver SAC 03 in early October.
“Delivery of SAC 02 is a tremendous milestone, achieved in less than three years,” said Bogdan Horvat, Chairman, NAMO board of directors. “I congratulate all of the participating nations, the Heavy Airlift Wing, NAMO, and the Boeing team that built such a tremendous airlifter.”
The SAC group includes 10 NATO nations — Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, United States — and Partnership for Peace members Sweden and Finland. They will share acquisition and operating costs for the fleet of three C-17s over a nearly 30-year agreement. SAC’s approach to shared use of the strategic airlifter is regarded as a model for the pooled acquisition and management of defense capabilities.
“This effort symbolizes solidarity at its best — 12 nations demonstrating what can be accomplished when they pool resources and goodwill to collectively serve those in need around the world,” said Gunnar Borch, General Manager of the NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA), the executive body of NAMO. “This is on display here today in Long Beach and at Pápa Air Base in Hungary, where multinational forces are working side-by-side to support the SAC mission and one another.”
NAMA is responsible for the acquisition, day-to-day management, and support of the C-17 fleet on behalf of NATO and all participating SAC nations. The HAW is operated by multinational crews from the 12 participating nations.
“Every day, on the flight line at Pápa Air Base, I have the privilege of seeing the men and women from the SAC nations serving together — their teamwork on display, their sense of purpose clear, their commitment to serving those in need unwavering,” said Col. Fredrik Héden, deputy wing commander, HAW. “The 12-nation mix of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations found it possible to work together to make SAC a reality, and because of that we are now prepared to meet today’s humanitarian needs and security challenges.”
A Boeing team based at Pápa provides support for the SAC C-17s, including material management and depot maintenance support, under Boeing Global Services & Support’s C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership.
“Boeing is so proud to be a part of this effort,” Jean Chamberlin, Boeing vice president and general manager, Global Mobility Systems, said to the customer representatives at the delivery ceremony. “You will continue to have our support, wherever and whenever you need us.”
Source: Boeing
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