Shifting demand for Strategic Airlift Capability drives base expansion
The SAC fleet consists of three C-17 aircraft. (Photo: NATO)
The NATO-supported Strategic Airlift Capability, operating three C-17 transport aircraft out of Pápa, Hungary, will get a new permanent set of facilities to streamline its operations as emphasis shifts towards Africa, Iraq and countries bordering Ukraine.
The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC), comprised of 12 member nations (ten NATO allies and two partners), is building a permanent, combined aerial port facility at the Hungarian Pápa Air Base that will include a 3,200 sq m storage space, airdrop and cargo halls as well as a 33m parachute drying tower.
The building will be jointly funded by the US, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. It will replace a temporary smaller structure, which proved to be a significant impediment for a military transport initiative such as the SAC.
The €10 million-plus structure
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