AP
NATO Countries Stall Deal for US Planes
Thursday June 14, 3:01 pm ET
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer
NATO Countries Stall Deal to Acquire US-Made C-17 Planes
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- An effort to provide U.S.-made military transport planes to NATO nations stalled Thursday as allied countries said they needed more time to review the plan.
Representatives from France, Spain and Germany voiced objections to the proposal that would allow a consortium of 18 countries to buy three Boeing Co. C-17 Globemasters, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the debate during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
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A second U.S. official said the objections center on whether the 18 countries would be solely responsible for any legal and financial responsibilities or if other NATO nations may be liable.
The officials requested anonymity because the matter had not yet been resolved.
During the meeting Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer read a paragraph from the agreement to the ministers that outlines the legal obligations.
Under the plan, in the works since last year, NATO would buy the planes. But 16 NATO countries and two partner nations -- Finland and Sweden -- would pay for the C-17s, which cost $225 million each. A fourth plane would be funded by the U.S.
Last week, NATO issued a legal opinion stating that the other allies would bear no legal or financial responsibility for the aircraft. But opponents on Thursday said they would need to consult with their legal counsels before making any decision.
It was not clear if that would be done before the NATO meeting wrapped up Friday.
According to the U.S. officials, none of the allies disputed the fact that NATO needs the transport planes. The deal cannot go through, however, until all NATO nations agree.
This is one of two initiatives aimed at providing NATO allies with strategic airlift capabilities. The other is a program under a multinational alliance of 16 countries, led by Germany, which has chartered six Antonov An-124 transport aircraft from a Russian-Ukrainian aviation joint-venture to serve as NATO's strategic reserve.
The Antonov, the world's largest freighter, has a load capacity of 120 tons compared with the C-17's 77 tons. It also has a longer range than the Boeing plane, but cannot use short airfields.
Some European nations have been concerned that purchases of the C-17 would cut into orders for the new A400M, the first military plane produced by Europe's Airbus consortium.
The C-17 is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force because of its ability to operate from short, unprepared airstrips such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The newest plan was announced at a meeting of NATO heads of state in Riga, Latvia, last November. The planes would provide strategic airlift capability for NATO and other missions. They would be flown and maintained by multinational aircrews under the command of a multinational military structure.
Countries participating in the program are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, the Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States, as well as neutral Sweden.
The prototype Airbus aircraft is scheduled to take to the sky in less than a year and about 200 will enter service in eight European air forces starting in 2009.
Airbus will offer much greater range and nearly twice the payload of the C-130 Hercules, but less than the C-17. Still, the turboprop will be cheaper to buy and operate than the American plane.
Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report.
Can you say crock of ****?
Personally it infuriates me because the consortium behind Airbus in particular France is full of **** and incompetent and trying to save their hides.
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