The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) program will soon train C-17 aircrews at Boeing’s C-17 International Training Centre (ITC) in the United Kingdom under a new $8 million contract.

SAC is comprised of ten NATO countries and two NATO Partnership for Peace countries. The program will begin training its multinational aircrews early this year. Prior to this contract, the SAC program sent aircrews to the United STates for training. As part of the contract, the US Air Force inspected and recognized Boeing’s C-17 training simulators at the ITC as being fully able to train C-17 aircrews. The ITC houses a weapons systems trainer, loadmaster station and an integrated maintenance procedure trainer.

Boeing C-17 training programme manager Larry Sisco said: “Boeing met the customer need to have access to affordable, high-quality training for aircrews from smaller countries with limited resources. “Having regional training is a big cost and time saving exercise for the SAC Programme.”

On behalf of the SAC program, the NATO Airlift Management (NAM) Programme Office requested this capability to meet the requirements of nations who make up this multinational program. In addition, the NAM Programme Office has ownership and is responsible for acquiring, managing and supporting NATO’s Strategic Airlift Capability aircraft, including three Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifters, that member nations can call upon to fulfill national operational needs.

Sources: Fiona Greenyer, Halldale Media Ltd; Air Force Technology