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.”
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…