Boeing will begin training NATO’s Strategic Airlift Capability program aircrews at its international C-17 training center in the United Kingdom under a new $8 million contract, according to a company release. The SAC is made up of 10 NATO countries and two NATO partner countries, and the multinational crews operate three C-17s out of Papa Air Base in Hungary. Previously, the SAC program sent crews to the United States for C-17 training; the Air Force inspected Boeing’s training simulators before the new contract was finalized. “Having regional training is a big cost and time savings for the SAC program,” Larry Sisco, Boeing’s C-17 training program manager, said in a written statement. “The US Air Force gave us their stamp of approval. They were thrilled with our simulator capability and how concurrent the simulators are with the C-17 aircraft.”
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.