UPDATE 1-Boeing gets C-17 order worth up to $400 million

(Add details of contract)

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) has received a U.S. Air Force contract valued at up to $400 million for two C-17 military cargo aircraft as part of a government-to-government overseas sale, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

The notice in the department's daily contract digest did not identify the buyer.

Jerry Drelling, a Boeing spokesman, said the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft were for an international consortium made up of allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization together with Sweden and Finland.

The 12 countries participating in the NATO-led Strategic Airlift Capability consortium include NATO members Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States. The other two, Sweden and Finland, are so-called "Partnership for Peace" nations.

NATO lacks a heavy airlift capability and must rely on outside sources. This usually takes the form of U.S. Air Force airlift or contract carriers that use Russian planes.

In notifying Congress of the proposed sale a year ago, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it would increase "interoperability" with the U.S. Air Force airlift system and enhance relationships with consortium members.

The consortium's two C-17s are to be based at Papa Air Base in Hungary. The U.S. Air Force will provide an additional C-17 for use by the wing. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gunna Dickson and Steve Orlofsky)