NATO, Deputy Secretary General Minuto Rizzo travelled to Leipzig, Germany, on 23 March, for a ceremony to mark the entry into force of a multinational contract on a Strategic Airlift Interim Solution. The event was hosted by German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung, since Germany has taken the lead on this initiative.
Thanks to a multinational contract, Russian and Ukrainian Antonov aircraft are to be used as an interim solution to meet shortfalls in European strategic airlift capabilities, pending deliveries of Airbus A400M aircraft, expected to start in 2010.
On 23 January, 15 NATO countries signed a contract with Ruslan SALIS GmbH, a subsidiary of the Russian company Volga Dnepr, based in Leipzig. The 15 original signatories
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