The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has extended the service contract with Antonov Logistics SALIS for another five years, Antonov recently announced. In the scope of the agreement, the company will keep two wide-body AN 124-100 aircraft permanently available at Leipzig Airport for orders from NATO countries.

Under the “Strategic Airlift International Solution” (SALIS, previously “Strategic Airlift Interim Solution”) agreement, the contract partners have already worked together since 2006 and carried out a number of heavy airlift operations. In addition to the two dedicated AN 124-100 aircraft, other aircraft of the same type were used depending on requirements, as well as the AN 225 – the largest aircraft in the world – and the AN 22 – the largest turboprop aircraft in the world.

The contract signature in September was preceded by a conference in Prague at which representatives of all customer countries and the contractor evaluated the performance during the previous three-year contract period. The result was the conclusion of the new contract that, for the first time, covers a five-year term, namely from 2022 to 2026.