Strategic airlift Giving Alliance forces global reach
Last updated: 11 Feb. 2016 17:41
NATO member countries have pooled their resources to acquire special aircraft that will give the Alliance the capability to transport troops, equipment and supplies across the globe. Robust strategic airlift capabilities are vital to ensure that NATO countries are able to deploy their forces and equipment rapidly to wherever they are needed.
By pooling resources, NATO countries make significant financial savings, and have the potential of acquiring assets collectively that would be prohibitively expensive to purchase as individual countries.
There are currently two initiatives aimed at providing the Alliance with strategic airlift capabilities: the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS) initiative, and the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC).
Strategic Airlift Interim Solution
A multinational consortium of 13 countries is chartering Antonov AN-124-100 transport aircraft as a Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS). SALIS provides assured access to up to six AN-124-100 aircraft (mission-ready within nine days in case of crisis) in support of NATO/EU operations.
The Russian and Ukrainian Antonov aircraft are being used as an interim solution to meet shortfalls in the Alliance's strategic airlift capabilities, pending deliveries of Airbus A400M aircraft. This is why the project is called Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS).
The SALIS initiative is planned to continue until the end of 2016. Participating nations have already expressed a need for the continuation of the initiative but will adjust their requirement as the Airbus A400M aircraft come into service. Components
The SALIS contract provides two Antonov AN-124-100 aircraft on part-time charter, two more on six days' notice and another two on nine days' notice. The consortium countries have committed to using the aircraft for a minimum of 1,800 flying hours per year for 2016Additional aircraft types such as IL-76 and AN-225 are included in the contract and can be used subject to availability.
A single Antonov AN-124-100 can carry up to 120 tons of cargo. SALIS member nations have used Antonovs in the past to transport equipment to and from Afghanistan, deliver aid to the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, and airlift African Union peacekeepers in and out of Darfur. Today, support missions for forces in Afghanistan and Africa are predominant.
The consortium includes 11 NATO nations (Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and two partner nations (Finland and Sweden).
The capability is coordinated on a day-to-day basis by the Strategic Airlift Coordination Cell, which is co-located with the NATO Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) provides support by managing the SALIS contract and partnership.
In June 2003, NATO defence ministers signed letters of intent on strategic air- and sealift.
At the June 2004 Istanbul Summit, defence ministers of 15 countries signed a memorandum of understanding to achieve an operational airlift capacity for outsize cargo by 2005, using up to six Antonov AN-124-100 transport aircraft. In addition, the defence ministers of Bulgaria and Romania signed a letter of intent to join the consortium.
In January 2006, the 15 countries tasked the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (currently known as the NATO Support and Procurement Agency) to sign a contract with Ruslan SALIS GmbH, a subsidiary of the Russian company Volga-Dnepr, based in Leipzig, Germany.
In March 2006, the 15 original signatories were joined by Sweden at a special ceremony in Leipzig to mark the entry into force of the multinational contract. The contract's initial duration was for three years, but this has now been extended until the end of 2016. Finland and Poland have also joined the SALIS programme. The SALIS contract was re-competed in 2012, and Ruslan SALIS GmbH was awarded a new two-year contract (2013/2014), later extended until December 2016.
Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC)
The second initiative aimed at providing NATO nations and partners with access to strategic airlift is the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC), which has procured several Boeing C-17 transport aircraft on behalf of a group of ten Allied and two partner nations.
The first C-17 was delivered in July 2009 with the second and third aircraft following in September and October 2009, respectively. Its operational arm, the Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) at Pápa Airbase in Hungary, operates the aircraft.
The HAW is manned by personnel from all participating nations and its missions support national requirements. Operations have included support to the International Security Assistance Force (Afghanistan), the Kosovo Force (KFOR), Operation Unified Protector in Libya, humanitarian relief in Haiti and Pakistan, African peacekeeping, and assistance to the Polish authorities following the air disaster in Russia.
In addition, there are national procurement programmes in place to improve airlift capabilities, including the acquisition by seven NATO nations of 180 Airbus A400M aircraft, and the purchase by Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of C-17s for national use.
The C-17 is a large strategic transport aircraft capable of carrying 77,000 kilograms (169,776 pounds) of cargo over 4,450 kilometres (2,400 nautical miles) and is able to operate in difficult environments and austere conditions.
The planes are configured and equipped to the same general standard as C-17s operated by the US Air Force. The crews and support personnel are trained for mission profiles and standards agreed by the countries.
These strategic lift aircraft are used to meet national requirements, but could also be allocated for NATO, United Nations and European Union missions, or for other international purposes.
The participants include ten NATO nations (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States) and two partner nations (Finland and Sweden). Membership in the airlift fleet remains open to other countries upon agreement by the consortium members.
The Multinational SAC Steering Board has the overall responsibility for the guidance and oversight of the programme and formulates its requirements. The NATO Airlift Management Programme provides administrative support to the Heavy Airlift Wing at Pápa Airbase.
On 12 September 2006, a Letter of Intent to launch contract negotiations was publicly released by 13 NATO countries. In the intervening period, Finland and Sweden joined the consortium and NATO participation evolved to the current ten members.
In June 2007, the North Atlantic Council approved the Charter of a NATO Production and Logistics Organisation (NPLO), which authorises the establishment of the NATO Airlift Management Organisation (NAMO). The Charter came into effect upon signature to the Memorandum of Understanding and notification to the North Atlantic Council, in September 2008. The Charter authorised the establishment of the NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA), which acquired, manages and supports the airlift assets on behalf of the SAC nations.
On 1 July 2012, in line with NATO Agencies Reform decisions, NAMO/NAMA became part of NSPA.
Smart Defence - C17
The C-17 Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC), based in Hungary, is a multinational initiative delivering a vital capability to the Alliance. It allows the ten participating NATO Allies and two partner nations to collectively own assets that would be prohibitively expensive to purchase individually.
The multinational Strategic Airlift Capability Program was launched in 2008 in order to acquire three C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes, to meet the strategic airlift requirements of the participating nations. The SAC C-17 aircraft can be made available through the SAC nations for NATO, EU, UN missions, and for other international purposes.
Twelve nations participate in the Strategic Airlift Capability. They include ten NATO nations (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Romania and the United States), and two partner countries (Finland and Sweden).
These twelve nations have pooled resources and shared capital investment in order to acquire, manage and jointly operate a fleet of three Boeing manufactured C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The Main Operating Base for the Strategic Airlift Capability is located in Pápa, Hungary.
Since the arrival of the first aircraft at Papa Air Base, in July 2009, the SAC Heavy Airlift Wing has flown over 5,000 flight hours and delivered more than 25,000 tons of cargo, as well as nearly 13,000 passengers for the nations, and this to six continents. SAC achievements to date include missions in support of ISAF and KFOR operations, for humanitarian relief activities in Haiti and Pakistan, and for peacekeeping efforts in Africa.
With a payload of 170,000 pounds, the C-17 can take off from a 7,600-foot airfield, fly 2,400 nautical miles, and land on a small, austere airfield in 3,000 feet or less. The C-17 is equipped with an externally blown flap system that allows a steep, low-speed final approach and low-landing speeds for routine short-field landings.
Through the use of advanced digital avionics and a state of the art cargo system, a standard crew of two pilots and one loadmaster can safely operate the C-17.
In the cargo compartment, the C-17 can carry wheeled military vehicles in two side-by-side rows.
The NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA) is responsible for the acquisition and full life cycle management sustainment of the Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 aircraft and related assets.
Infographic : NATO's Strategic Airlift Capability
Check out this infographic to learn more about NATO's Strategic Airlift Capability
Infographic - Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS)
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NATO Strategic Airlift brings relief to Typhoon ravaged Philippines 13 Nov. 2013
NAMA hosts C-17 Virtual Fleet community's annual meeting in Hungary20 May. 2011
C17 conducts third humanitarian relief flight to Haiti03 Feb. 2010
SAC flies its first humanitarian relief flight to Haiti18 Jan. 2010
NATO's Capabilities Smart Defence
Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) - Initiative Adoption of the NAMO charter
Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MMCE)
Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW)