, The Cabinet of Ministers (CoM) Regulation “On Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Airlift Capabilities between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Finland, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Hungary, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Italy, Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway, Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, Government of Romania, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Government of the Kingdom of Sweden and Department of State of the Unites States of America” submitted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was proclaimed at the CoM State Secretary Meeting on 3 April.
The elaborated CoM Regulation will allow Latvia to become a full member of the Strategic Airlift Capabilities (SAC) programme and will create a legal base for the Latvian participation in the implementation of SAC programme.
Within the framework of the programme, Latvia along with 14 other NATO and EU members will purchase three Boeing C-17 transport aircrafts, which will be based in the Hungarian airbase of Papa; set up international Airlift Wing, which will co-ordinate and ensure airlifts required by member states involved in the programme, as well as set up a new NATO Airlift Management Agency.
By participating in the SAC programme, Latvia will ensure its access to strategic airlift transport, which will partly solve the airlift capabilities required by the National Armed Forces for deployment and return of the NATO Response Forces and the EU Battle Groups to and from international missions.
The first C-17 aircraft will be delivered at the end of 2008 from the US, whereas the full operational capabilities will be attained at the end of 2009.
The MoD Budget 2008 has allotted 3.72 million lats for the Latvian participation in the SAC programme. However, in accordance with the current estimations, the Latvian share of costs in 2008 will be 4,377,506 lats; therefore, Amendment to Budget is required to increase the total amount of funds by at least 656,962 lats, so that Latvia can meet its liabilities set by the Memorandum of Understanding concluded in 2008.
Latvian Ministry of Defence
