Summer 2018: NATO and Antonov negotiating airlift contract..

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.janes.com/article/81615/nato ... al-airlift

09 July 2018

NATO and Antonov Airlines
are negotiating a contract to provide additional outsized airlift
following the announcement in April that Volga-Dnepr will no longer support the alliance.

The contract for between 1,300 and 1,600 flying hours of heavy airlift
should be in place by the time the current agreement with Russian provider Volga-Dnepr expires at the end of this year,
a NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) official told Jane’s on 9 July,
adding that the agency was unable to provide additional information at this time.

Ukraine-based Antonov Airlines previously said it would provide
the necessary number of An-124 aircraft
to support NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS) programme,
after Volga-Dnepr said that the poor political climate between Russia and the West
meant that it was unable to continue its participation.

Under the existing SALIS agreement,
Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr contribute a total of six An-124 aircraft
for charter services to NATO and partner nations.

As noted on the company’s website,
Antonov Airlines specialises in the transport of outsized and project cargo worldwide
using a fleet of one An-22, seven An-124s, and the world’s only An-225.

http://www.janes.com/article/81615/nato ... al-airlift