August 2021

The SAC evacuates nearly 3,000 civilians from Kabul in 12 missions for two weeks.

1 June 2021

The SAC introduces its first own visual brand in its communication products.

11 November 2020

NATO Support and Procurement Agency, the NATO body supporting and working directly with the SAC, delivers 2 million US dollars worth of road improvements at Pápa Air Base, financed by the Hungarian Ministry of Defense.

6 August 2020

The SAC conducts an Emergency Response Mission on behalf of The Netherlands transporting Dutch Search and Rescue capabilities to Beirut, Lebanon only 24 hours after a devastating explosion shook downtown of the Lebanese capital.

26 June 2020

Lt Cdr Simona Maierean (Romanian Air Force) is the first European woman who is certified as aircraft commander in the history of the SAC.

22 April 2020

The SAC is authorized to use a new drop zone for airdrop trainings. The zone is in the vicinity of Kenyeri, a couple miles away from Pápa, which allows the SAC better airdop training.

March-May 2020

The SAC conducts Emergency Response Missions to Member Nations Romania, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Hungary delivering medical equipment amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The world was struggling to get medical supplies and personal protective equipment to try and slow the outbreak. Businesses, services, and transportation stopped. In these times, the SAC transported about 250 tons of equipment from the Far East in empty airspace, landing at and taking off from empty airports.

22 September 2019

The first SAC graduate of Aircraft Commander Air Drop (ACAD) training leads an all European aircrew as they perform the first SAC Air Drop mission without US Air Force aircrew in either the pilot or loadmaster positions.

26-27 June 2019

The Strategic Airlift Capability celebrates 10 years of operations.

January 2019

Strategic Airlift Capability conducts first mission to Iraq in 9 years.

5 May 2018

Strategic Airlift Capability reaches 25,000 Flight Hours

September 2017

Strategic Airlift Capability supported evacuation Operation from the Island St. Maarten.

August 2017

Strategic Airlift Capability Acquires C-17 simulator.

21 November 2016

First Strategic Airlift Capability Mission to Timbuktu.

17 November 2016

Grand Opening of the new C-17 hangar at Pápa Air Base.

10 August 2016

The Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 fleet reaches 20,000 flight hours.

May 2016

Strategic Airlift Capability moves to new SAC campus, including offices, a warehouse, a vehicle maintenance station, aerial port, an the continent's larges purpose-built C-17 hangar at Pápa Air Base.

1 March 2016

First airlift mission to the semi-prepared runway of Gao Airport, Mali.

January 2016

Simulator training of HAW flight crews begins at the Boeing Defence UK facility in Farnborough, enabling significant cost savings.

November 2015

A SAC C-17 transports patients with severe burn injuries from Bucharest to the United Kingdom and Norway for treatment.

28 November 2014

The Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 fleet reaches 15,000 flight hours.

October 2014

The first of the three Straegic Airlift Capability C-17s, SAC 01 rolls out from the Boeing Heavy Maintenance Production line. Heavy Maintenance is a four-month extensive work that is carried out on C-17s every five years to ensure the safe and reliable operation of aircraft systems. SAC C-17 will undergo Heavy Maintenance during years 2014 and 2015.

July – August 2014

The Strategic Airlift Capability provides logistics support to the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash investigation by transporting a K-Loader vehicle from Pápa Air Base, Hungary to Kharkiv, Ukraine on a C-17 aircraft.

June 2014

The Heavy Airlift Wing flies its 1,000th airlift mission.

May 2014

Heavy Airlift Wing conducts its first mission to support the European Union military operation EUFOR RCA in the Republic of Central Africa.

22 January 2014

The Heavy Airlift Wing performs its first material airdrop training mission in its host nation Hungary utilizing the Gyulafirátót training range in the vicinity of the town of Veszprém.

1 July 2013

During his visit to Pápa Air Base the Secretary General of NATO, Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen participates in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction work of the Strategic Airlift Capability Permanent Facilities that will house SAC functions in Pápa and include the first C-17 aircraft hangar in Europe.

2 April 2013

Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing C-17 Fleet Reaches 10,000 Flying Hours.

March 2013

The Heavy Airlift Wing conducts its first missions to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) actions in Mali in support of the UN Security Council Resolution.

14 November 2012

Heavy Airlift Wing Declares Full Operational Capability (FOC).

1 July 2012

The NATO Airlift Management Agency merges with the NATO Maintenance and Support Agency (NAMSA) and the Central European Pipeline Management Agency (CEPMA) into the NATO Support Agency (NSPA).

5 November 2011

The Heavy Airlift Wing has flown at least one mission for each Strategic Airlift Capability nation. The milestone is achieved as a mission requested by Estonia flown in the support of the nation's ISAF troops in Afghanistan.

21 March 2011

The Heavy Airlift Wing flies its first mission in support of NATO operations in Libya from RAF Lakenheath, UK to Aviano Air Base, Italy according to a request from the United States.

19 November 2010

The Heavy Airlift Wing accomplishes its first mission without US Air Force members on board as a crew of seven airmen consisting of three Swedes, two Norwegians, one Bulgarian and one Pole fly a C-17 in the support of ISAF forces in Afghanistan.

14 April 2010

A Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 repatriates bodies of the victims of the Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in Smolensk, Russia to Warsaw, Poland.

13 February 2010

The Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 fleet reaches a total flying time of 1,000 flight hours.

January – February 2010

The Heavy Airlift Wing conducts three humanitarian relief missions to Haiti delivering aid equipment and supplies to help the country, whose capital Port-au-Prince has been devastated in a massive earthquake.

December 2009

The Heavy Airlift Wing flies the first one of a total of three missions to Iraq supporting the NATO Training mission in the country.

12 October 2009

The third and last of the three SAC C-17 aircraft is delivered.

27 – 28 September 2009

HAW flies its first mission in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan delivering cargo from Karlsborg Air Base, Sweden to Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan at a request of Sweden.

13 August 2009

The Heavy Airlift Wing flies its first operational airlift mission. At a request from the United States passengers are transported from Ramstein Air Base, Germany to Pristina International Airport in Kosovo.

27 July 2009

The Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing is officially activated in a ceremony held at the Pápa Air Base.

14 July 2009

The first aircraft of the SAC operational arm, the Heavy Airlift Wing, C-17 SAC 01 is delivered. It Arrives to its home field Pápa Air Base after a ferry flight from the Boeing Long Beach Facility.

23 September 2008

Ten NATO member countries and two Partnership for Peace nations establish the Strategic Airlift Capability by signing the SAC Memorandum of Understanding. NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA) is founded to be the SAC support organization.

12 September 2006

A Letter of Intent for establishing a multinational strategic airlift initiative, NATO Strategic Airlift Capability, is signed by 13 NATO nations.