The government endorsed on Thursday Slovenia's participation in the purchase of four C-17 military transport aircraft together with 14 other NATO members, the Government PR and Media Office said in Thursday's press release.
The government stressed that Slovenia's involvement in this partnership would not affect the plan to purchase two transport aircraft for the Slovenian Armed Forces. While details of the C-17 plan are to be presented formally by NATO at next week's summit in Riga, information about Slovenia's participation in the project was already leaked to the public in mid-November. Defence Minister Karl Erjavec explained then that three of the planned four aircraft had already been bought. He added that this was not a classic purchase, but rather a lease from NATO's strategic transport forces. The plan would give Slovenia a pre-determined share of flight hours. According to Erjavec, Slovenia plans to use 60 flight hours every year, which puts the cost for the country at between US$ 14m and US$ 19m.