Strategic Airlift Capability

[2] The operational organization of SAC, the Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW), is a multinational force, commanded by a colonel of a member nation.

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.

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.

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.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the C-17, is responsible for contract flight line maintenance; engineering and technical support; and management and supply of spare parts.

This system called the Concept of Total Aviation Safety (CONTAS) is based upon a heavily adapted version of the United States Air Force C-17 safety system, the principles of design and operation of heavy airlift aircraft as described by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the mandatory requirements of the Hungarian National Transport Authority who are the national authority that registers the aircraft and certifies the operations of the HAW, and the support provided by NAM PO.

[6] Strategic Airlift Capability has also participated in the logistics support provided to the investigation of the 2014 Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in Ukraine.

In 2015, a Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 transported patients with severe burn injuries from Bucharest to the United Kingdom and Norway following the Colectiv nightclub fire.

[6] As of December 2016, the Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 fleet has achieved over 21,000 flying hours, flown over 1,700 missions, delivered over 138 million pounds (over 62,000 tons) of cargo and carried almost 100,000 passengers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Strategic Airlift Capability conducted Emergency Response Missions to Romania, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Hungary delivering medical equipment.