Strategic Airlift Capability

The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a consortium of 12 nations, 10 of which are member states of NATO and two of which are Partnership for Peace (PfP) members, to pool resources in order to operate Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for joint strategic airlift purposes.

The SAC concept was originally intended to be operated in a fashion similar to NATO's Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft program, but is independent of NATO chain of command. Although the Strategic Airlift Capability relies on certain NATO support structures, it transcends the military and political alliances like the NATO and the European Union.

The operational organization of SAC is the Heavy Airlift Wing, a multinational force based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary and commanded by a colonel of a member nation. Nearly all operational aircraft maintenance is provided by a contractor team provided by Boeing. Each SAC nation jointly owns a share of the SAC aircraft, currently three in number, and acquires total annual flight hours according to its own contribution share that it may use at its own national discretion.

The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) concept originated at NATO HQ in mid-2006. NATO officials and national representatives envisaged a partnered solution that would satisfy a need for strategic airlift for member states without the economic resources to field a permanent capability. Originally this idea was called the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (NSAC). In October 2006 the first non-NATO nation joined the initiative and the concept changed its name to the SAC and moved outside the Alliance.

On 23 September 2008 the 12 nations established the Strategic Airlift Capability by signing the SAC Memorandum of Understanding.

On 14 July 2009, Strategic Airlift Capability received its first C-17 aircraft, bearing the registration SAC 01. The remaining two aircraft, SAC 02 and 03, were delivered in the following months and operations with the Heavy Airlift Wing started immediately thereafter at Pápa Air Base.

In November 2012 the Heavy Airlift Wing achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC). The unit was then considered fully capable of missions containing air refueling, single ship airdrop, assault landings, all-weather operations day or night into low-to-medium-threat environments, limited aeromedical evacuation operations and utilizing C-17 air-land and air-drop mission capabilities.

...
Wikipedia