NATO Chief Says 15 Allies and Sweden Plan To Buy C-17s
27 November 2006
Consortium would result in joint ownership of at least three transport jets
Riga, Latvia -- NATO’s secretary-general says 15 allies plus Sweden now plan to pool their money and buy at least three U.S.-built C-17 cargo planes that can transport troops or humanitarian supplies and also support U.N. and European Union missions.
On November 27, Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of the Netherlands, accompanied by other dignitaries and a U.S. Air Force crew, toured a C-17 Globemaster III on display at Riga Airport in Latvia a day before NATO leaders were scheduled to gather for the Riga Summit.
NATO’s C-17 initiative “will represent a quantum leap in our strategic airlift capability,” de Hoop Scheffer told reporters gathered inside the cavernous cargo hold of the transport aircraft. The four-engine jet is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force and can carry 144 troops or 75,000 kilograms of cargo for distances up to 2,400 nautical miles (4,450 kilometers). It also can refuel in flight. (See related article.)
“The C-17 represents real transformation of capability,” de Hoop Scheffer said. “It can fly long distances, be refueled in midair, land on very short runways and carry an enormous payload, whether it be conventional troops or special forces, equipment such as tanks and helicopters, or aid in disaster relief operations.”
In addition to supporting NATO operations, “the flying hours can be used in support of missions of other international organizations, such as the United Nations and the European Union,” de Hoop Scheffer said.
Latvia’s president, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, accompanied the NATO delegation and also spoke to reporters aboard the C-17. Latvia declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the NATO alliance in 2004.
NATO is “an alliance on which we rely and we pin our hopes for maintaining our sovereignty and our security for many years to come,” Vike-Freiberga said.
“It’s very gratifying for us, as a relatively small country, to be able to work together with our partners to achieve goals that we could not hope to be able to achieve singly,” she added.
NATO’s European allies spent much of the Cold War era preparing to defend in place, so they have relatively few expeditionary capabilities such as long-range aircraft. Recent missions to Afghanistan and Africa, as well as the response to the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, highlight NATO’s chronic airlift shortage.
For more information on U.S. policy, see The United States and NATO.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
