A 330 MRTT

Airbus' A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport has performed the first simultaneous refueling of two fighters with its all-digital hose-and-drogue system, the company [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Monday.
The Royal Australian Air Force [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] used its left and right under-wing pods to transfer more than 25,000 pounds of fuel to two NATO F/A-18 fighters during 11 simultaneous airborne refueling contacts on Nov. 18, Airbus said.
"Operational flexibility and demonstrated robust mission capability are essential requirements for a military refueling aircraft," EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby, Jr., said in a statement. "This latest program success is further evidence that the A330 MRTT is ready to meet the demanding operational requirements of next-generation military tankers, including those of the U.S. Air Force as part of the Northrop Grumman KC-45 team."
The Australian tanker has previously transferred fuel [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] using its boom and to one aircraft at a time through its hose-and-drogue system, Airbus noted. "(B)oth refueling systems on the A330 MRTT have now been demonstrated through flight tests, confirming the aircraft's maturity in preparation for the startup of deliveries to international customers beginning in 2010."
The Australian tanker "is nearly identical in configuration" to the tanker a Northrop Grumman-EADS team is offering to the U.S. Air Force, Airbus noted. It said the first of the five tankers Australia has ordered will be delivered in mid-2010.

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has summarily cancelled the INR48 billion (USD1.06 billion) tender for six multirole tanker transports (MRTTs) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), for which the EADS-built Airbus Military A330 MRTT was the preferred choice.
In 2008 the IAF had recommended the A330 MRTT over the rival Russian Ilyushin Il-78, of which it acquired six in 2004 for INR8 billion.
However, ignoring its evaluation following years of extended trials, the MoD dispatched a cryptic letter to EADS in New Delhi on 4 January withdrawing the tender, which IAF sources indicated was on the 'verge' of closure.
MoD sources said the MRTT requirement would now be retendered, resulting in interminable delays.
"It will now take many more years to shortlist another MRTT unless the MoD insists we acquire the Il-78s against our better judgement," an IAF officer said, declining to be identified.
The terminated tender required Airbus to deliver the first A330 MRTT to the IAF within three years of signing the deal and the remaining five within 15 months thereafter.
EADS officials in Delhi declined to comment on the tender's withdrawal, but defence industry sources said "vested interests" had influenced the federal Cabinet meeting on 29 December 2009 that decided to cancel the acquisition of the badly needed MRTTs.
Military sources said that, despite entreaties not to do so by the IAF, Defence Minister A K Antony agreed to cancel the MRTT purchase after the federal finance ministry raised objections on grounds of the A330's high cost.

European Union nations are being urged to establish a pooled air-to-air refuelling capability, after a study last year concluded that a critical shortfall exists among partner air forces.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] conducted a study from 2005 into the possible formation of a tanker unit via a private finance initiative, private/public partnership or joint venture agreement, says Belgian air force Lt Col Laurent Donnet, project officer in deployability. "We got no interest from the nations in 2007," he adds.

The EDA gave a fresh presentation to national representatives in March 2009, including input from commercial refuelling service provider [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and a follow-on meeting was staged last November. This drew involvement from the multinational Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) organisation, the US Naval Air Systems Command and UK company Qinetiq.

Donnet says the meeting resulted in "possible interest from the nations," but notes: "There was no clear commitment." However, feedback provided during December suggests that a niche could exist for a commercial supplier to provide "assured access" AAR services under some circumstances, for example while supporting international training deployments.

The EDA will on 10 February again raise the issue of a Commercial AAR Interim Solution (CAARIS) project with its 26 EU member states.
"We will put forward a clear action plan and propose a solution for CAARIS," Donnet said during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s Air Tankers and Aerial Refuelling conference in London on 25 January. "We are looking for the nations to go ahead with a trial, and to set up a group to discuss a follow-up. Hopefully they will give us a mandate to research the AAR shortfall in more detail."

Donnet believes some EU nations could eventually back the formation of a structure similar to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft-equipped NATO Early Warning and Control Force. This could initially be equipped with "five or six multirole tanker/transports".

MCCE director Col Freek van der Vaart told the same conference that 18 of his organisation's 21 signatory nations have a requirement to conduct operations with AAR assets, but "only nine have tankers".

Additional benefits of a CAARIS service could include the provision of support during national certification activities for tanker derivatives of commercial aircraft, he says, using the UK's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-based Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft as an example.

An Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport refueled a French Air Force E-3F AWACS radar aircraft, transferring more than 65,000 pounds of fuel through its boom during two missions last week, EADS North America announced Tuesday.

"With this important milestone, the A330 MRTT has once again demonstrated its ability to meet the U.S. Air Force's demanding operational requirements for its next generation tanker," Ralph Crosby Jr., chairman of EADS North America, said in a news release. "We have an aircraft flying now that brings more capability than any tanker available in the world."
During the AWACS refueling missions, the aircraft made repeated contacts at altitudes around 20,000 feet and speed of 250 knots, EADS said. The missions were part of the flight test and military certification program for the Royal Australian Air Force's A330 MRTT, which has conducted more than 200 wet and dry contacts, transferring more than 200,000 pounds of fuel via boom and drogue to three different types of NATO aircraft that the U.S. Air Force and Navy also fly.
The A330 MRTT is the basis of the KC-45 Tanker that a Northrop Grumman-EADS team may propose for the U.S. Air Force's upcoming [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] request.

Airbus updates A330 tanker progress, nears decision on KC-X bid

Airbus Military expects to soon receive European Aviation Safety Agency civil certification for its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-based multi-role tanker transport, with flight-test and aircraft modification work now under way for all four customers for the type.
Military certification of the tanker/transport is expected to also be in place by the middle of the year, says head of Airbus military derivatives Antonio Caramazana. The aircraft's underwing refuelling pods are undergoing final checks, and work will start this month on clearing its advanced boom refuelling system.
Two of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s eventual five A330s are supporting the flight-test activities in Spain, with the pair having made almost 500 dry and wet contacts with receiver aircraft and transferred more than 120t of fuel in flight.

Canberra expects to take delivery of its first two aircraft late this year, with full operating capability to be declared after the last arrives in 2012.
The UK's first two of 14 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft are also in work at Airbus Military's Getafe plant near Madrid. Now being configured as a three-point tanker with wing pods and a centreline fuselage refuelling unit, the first of these will fly in military guise in September, the company says.
More than 30 personnel from UK company [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] are already at the site in preparation for modifying the rest of the fleet at Bournemouth in Dorset from September 2011.
Also now entering conversion are the first MRTT aircraft destined for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have ordered for six and three tankers respectively.

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Caramazana says he is "determined" to offer the A330-based [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in response to a new request for proposals for the US Air Force's 179-aircraft KC-X tanker deal, noting: "We have won once, and want to again." However, EADS says officially that its partner Northrop Grumman is continuing to evaluate the document before deciding whether to bid for the requirement against incumbent supplier Boeing.
Airbus has identified other potential sales prospects as existing in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. It is awaiting a fresh request for quotation from India after coming "very close to a contract award" last year, Caramazana says.
Discussions also continue with France to provide a replacement for its Boeing C/KC-135s. "We have been exploring different approaches with combinations of A310s and A330s since 2004, even offering a private finance initiative-type model," he says. "We consider we're in the final loop, but these are not decisions that get made overnight."

(CercleFinance.com) -

Airbus, filiale d'EADS, s'est vu attribuer un certificat de type complémentaire (STC) pour son avion ravitailleur A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT).

Cette certification, obtenue auprès de l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne (EASA), concerne les modifications militaires apportées à la version civile de l'avion, qui avait été validée en 1998.

Il s'agit d'une première pour un appareil développé en Europe.

La certification fait suite à une campagne de tests ayant inclus plus de 170 essais en vol.

EADS, Airbus Military to highlight in-flight refueling capabilities at 2010 ARSAG conference

Arlington, Virginia | EADS’ air-to-air refueling expertise will be a focus of this week’s Aerial Refueling Systems Advisory Group (ARSAG) conference, which will include updates on the Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT).

The annual ARSAG meeting – March 30 to April 1 in Orlando, Fla. – will bring together representatives from U.S. military services and 14 other nations to discuss aerial refueling issues from the operational, safety, training, reliability and maintainability points of view.

Airbus Military will provide three presentations on the A330 MRTT, beginning today with a briefing on the capabilities it is providing for the Royal Australian Air Force. Presentations on April 1 will focus on systems design and flight-test achievements. The MRTT has refueled a range of aircraft – from F-16 and F/A-18 fighters to the E-3 AWACS – using its Advanced Aerial Refueling Boom and its hose-and-drogue refueling pods, and recently achieved an important certification milestone with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The A330 MRTT has won all recent international competitions for military tanker aircraft, with 28 aircraft ordered by Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Royal Australian Air Force will become the initial operator, receiving the first of its five multi-role tanker transports later this year. Detailed information about the MRTT is now available at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Airbus Military representatives also will be available to discuss the A400M, the world’s most technologically advanced and versatile airlifter and aerial refueler. With its large cargo box and four 11,000-shaft-horsepower turboprop engines, the A400M can carry the outsized, heavier equipment needed by today’s fighting forces over strategic distances into short, unprepared fields. In its tactical tanker role, it can refuel fighters, helicopters and larger aircraft at those receivers’ preferred speeds and altitudes. The A400M made its first flight in December 2009, and has logged more than 40 hours of successful flight test. For more on the A400M, visit [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

EADS North America and Airbus Military will be displaying their capabilities in the ARSAG exhibition hall at Stand #24.[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

RAF tanker request didn't envision flying in war zones

The U.K. will have to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to add protection to new Airbus A330-based aerial refueling [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] because its original tanker request didn't envision the planes flying in a war zone, according to a new watchdog report.
"The original (tanker) requirement did not envisage the aircraft flying directly into high-threat environments such as Afghanistan," Britain's National Audit Office [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Tuesday. "Having established that these modifications are likely to cost several hundred million pounds, the Department is considering the costs and technical requirements in the light of other options. If the Department chooses to fit these modifications, it will take a number of years to do so."
The tankers are likely to be delivered five and a half years later than planned, forcing Britain "to rely on ageing and increasingly unreliable Tristar and VC10 aircraft to provide air-to-air refuelling and air transport to Afghanistan," the office said.
The tankers that Airbus parent EADS might propose for the U.S. Air Force's tanker competition would include defensive elements.

• Etait-ce prévu dans le cahier des charges ? Sinon il semble normal que ce développement soit payant.
  
• Cela ressemble beaucoup à un missile envers la possible répons d'EADS AU RFP US.
  

• Publié le 28 Avril 2010
  
• Copyright 2010 Dowjones
  

- PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Aircraft maker Airbus, part of part of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR), said Wednesday that work is underway on the first Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport for the United Arab Emirates, meaning that aircraft for all four current MRTT customers are in conversion.

MAIN FACTS:

- This aircraft joins those for Australia, Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom, which are already under conversion in Spain.
Altogether five MRTTs are now undergoing conversion, and two are flying and in final certification testing.

The US Air Force's selection of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]/[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] North America team's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-based KC-45 in 2008 was one of the most remarkable decisions made within the last several years.
By rejecting [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s offer of a KC-767 to meet its KC-X requirement, the service appeared to have removed the company's decades-old dominance of the air-to-air refuelling sector. It also seemed to have vindicated a bid strategy which had promised to deliver a vital commodity: "more".

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

But that was not the end of the story, with a Boeing appeal to the US Government Accountability Office having led to the deal's termination over process errors.

Also in early March, Northrop stepped back from a contest that it considered to be unfairly skewed towards a smaller design, leaving EADS NA to go it alone in pursuit of the 179-aircraft deal.
With the contest now in a 60-day extension period approved by the Department of Defense before responses to a final request for proposals must be tabled on 9 July, the gloves have well and truly come off.
EADS has adopted a far more aggressive stance than Northrop in promoting the KC-45 in a bid to fight back against Boeing and its supporters. Fuelled by the results of a World Trade Organisation investigation, which concluded that some Airbus programmes - including the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] - had received illegal state subsidies from European governments, the KC-767 NewGen Tanker's promoters have dressed the product as an all-US tanker fighting against a transatlantic raider.
But claiming that its North American activities today support 200,000 US jobs and contribute $11 billion to the economy each year, EADS is promoting its own US credentials.
"The KC-45 will be made in America by tens of thousands of American workers, and build the US economy for today and tomorrow," says EADS NA. If selected, the company will assemble its new tanker in Mobile, Alabama, and also bring in similar work on the new A330-200F freighter.
EADS's head of Airbus military derivatives, Antonio Caramazana, says the KC-45 offering will draw heavily on the company's experience in preparing the A330-200 as the KC-30A for the Royal Australian Air Force. "The basic aircraft and the basic air-to-air refuelling solution is very similar," he says.

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To enter delayed service from late this year, Australia's new tanker/transports are equipped with an EADS advanced boom refuelling system and a Cobham 905E hose and drogue pod under each wing. Certification work should conclude around mid-year.

"We are working with the RAAF to make the transition," says Caramazana. The service is expected to receive two aircraft late this year before declaring initial operating capability in early 2011. All five of its aircraft will be delivered before full operating capability is achieved during 2012.
EADS would prepare its first prototype KC-45 for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in Getafe, Spain, and complete subsequent aircraft in the USA. It will offer the aircraft with the option of a cargo door, enabling the type to be flown in a passenger/cargo combi configuration, or to carry a freight load of up to 45,000kg (99,200lb).
"The capacity of the A330-200 as a cargo transport is phenomenal," says Caramazana.
Its offering will also use the Cobham 805E fuselage refuelling unit already integrated with one of the UK's first two A330s under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme. As with all MRTTs sold to date, the design will retain the A330's maximum fuel capacity of 111,000kg.
With Australia's first aircraft now nearing operational use, EADS is highlighting the level of new systems included within Boeing's KC-767 NewGen Tanker, and their potential risk.
"The [US] Air Force shouldn't have to take an expensive gamble on an aircraft that only exists on paper," it says. Selecting a new development would be "a gamble with taxpayer money and the warfighter's future," it argues.
The European Aviation Safety Agency in mid-March granted a civil supplemental type certificate for the MRTT modifications. These include the fly-by-wire boom, an enlarged cockpit with a new operator console for the refuelling system and a universal aerial refuelling receptacle slipway installation to also allow the aircraft to receive fuel from another tanker.
The commercial aircraft's original flight-control laws have also been modified for the latter requirement, enabling a pilot to make more agile inputs in roll.
"It is much more responsive, to keep the aircraft within +/-1ft," says Tim Butler, Airbus project test pilot for the A330 MRTT. "We flew an ex-USAF [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] pilot, and he made contact the first time," he notes. "That validates the work that we've done."
In tanker law and with the boom extended, the A330 is restricted to a flight envelope within +2.0g and 0g. A new bank angle mode has been added to its autopilot to provide a more stable tanking platform, says Butler. "It's a great enhancement, as it allows the receiver to stay in contact. It's worked well for us."
Aircraft refuelled during flight testing with Australia's first two KC-30As have included Spanish air force Boeing EF-18s, Portuguese air force [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] F-16s and a French air force Boeing E-3F airborne warning and control system platform. The MRTT has also received fuel from a French C-135 tanker.
This work highlighted a safety issue with the wing pod fairing, with the refuelling basket having on one occasion hit the wing while being retracted. The fairing was redesigned to improve hose stability and passed subsequent testing, leading to the late April award of daylight certification to use the hose and drogue system.
Airbus expects its civil certification to be followed "this summer" with military certification from Spain's INTA authority for the hose and drogue system. Flight testing of the aircraft's boom system "is progressing well, and will be completed shortly", it adds.
Located on the enlarged flight deck, the "boomer" operator station features an enhanced vision system which uses images from numerous high definition cameras, and also includes an optional 3D mode.


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The same cameras provide images under day, night and dusk conditions, and can be combined to show a 180° panoramic view from wing tip to wing tip.
"We want to give carefree handling to the operator, and to the receiver a reduced workload," says Don Cash, the project's head flight test boom operator. For the operator, the process is hands-off after contact has been made, he notes.
Additional benefits of the system include it automatically knowing, for example, which quantity of fuel to use and which pumps to employ with a specific receiver aircraft.
EADS says the MRTT's size means that it can fly 500nm (925km) before remaining on station for 5h with an available fuel load of 60,000kg. Alternatively, this can be changed to 50,000kg over a 1,000nm distance with a 4h 30min time on station.
In addition to the five ordered by launch customer Australia, Airbus Military has sold a further 23 A330 MRTTs to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the UK.
Australia's third aircraft is now in modification by Qantas Defence Services in Brisbane, Queensland, with this and the programme's last two airframes to undergo customer acceptance flights in the country. An option to buy three more cargo-door equipped MRTTs expired in 2007, but Caramazana says: "we are willing to negotiate again."

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The first aircraft for both Saudi Arabia (six) and the United Arab Emirates (three) are now undergoing conversion in Spain, with deliveries to both to start during 2011. The UAE's aircraft will all be completed in Spain and supported locally by Gamco, and there is the possibility for three additional aircraft to be acquired.
Airbus is still negotiating with a potential partner for local involvement in Saudi Arabia, although it says this is not a necessity. "Right now we don't have a solution," says Caramazana. "It has to be a balance between the investment in capital, capabilities and technology transfer."
The first two aircraft from the UK's eventually 14-strong FSTA fleet arrived at Getafe in the second half of last year, and structural modifications have been completed on both. The "prototypes" will be used to support certification activities, with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s remaining 12 to be modified by Cobham Aviation Services in Bournemouth, Dorset. The entire fleet will carry Cobham 905E wing pods, while half will also use the company's centre fuselage refuelling unit.
The UK's first modified tanker will make its first flight in military guise this September, and enter service in late 2011.
Airbus says it will leverage certification work already performed on Australia's MRTT where possible for the UK programme. After basic certification and qualification, the first two aircraft will be flown to Qinetiq's Boscombe Down facility in Wiltshire to support user trials.
The tankers will be flown with combat types including the BAE Systems Harrier GR9, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] GR4, and with large aircraft such as the Boeing E-3D Sentry and Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transport.
"We have offered to the market a response to the disadvantage of the old tanker fleet," says Caramazana. Other potential sales opportunities exist in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America, he says, with India and France considered near-term prospects.
Airbus Military has also modified several A310 transports for the tanker role for Canada (two) and Germany (four), with the type offering a maximum fuel offload of 60,000kg. Several nations have also ordered air-to-air refuelling equipment for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which has a 58,000kg capacity.
WHY THE UK SELECTED THE A330 FOR FSTA
The UK's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) competition also pitted the Airbus A330-200 against Boeing's smaller 767.
Proposed by a BAE Systems, Boeing and Cobham team, the Tanker and Transport Service Company offer was based on delivering a fleet of Rolls-Royce-engined 767-300s to be acquired secondhand from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. This appeared to be a credible means of replacing the Royal Air Force's Vickers VC10 and Lockheed TriStar tanker/transports, which had also seen previous commercial service.
But this perception changed with the RAF's need to perform long-range missions in support of combat aircraft operating above Iraq during the second Gulf War in 2003, and by the demands of the UK's subsequent mission in Afghanistan. Having previously appeared too large, the new-build A330s offered by the EADS UK-led AirTanker consortium suddenly appeared an ideal fit. In addition to delivering air-to-air refuelling services, the type could also be used as a way of providing part of the vital "airbridge" to carry equipment and personnel between RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and Afghanistan.
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
AirTanker was shortlisted by the Ministry of Defence in January 2004 for the FSTA deal, but protracted negotiations between the parties meant that a contract was not signed until March 2008. The deal covers the provision of 14 leased A330s under a private finance initiative deal worth an estimated £13 billion ($19.9 billion) over 24 years.

Airbus A330 tanker refuels another A330 tanker

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An Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport has refueled another A330 MRTT during certification flights for the Australian military, EADS North America announced Wednesday.
The A330 MRTT is the basis for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] EADS North America plans to offer to the U.S. Air Force.
"The 'buddy' refueling missions underscore the KC-45's ability to conduct large fuel onloads and offloads, and reconfirm it as the only tanker in the U.S. Air Force competition that meets the warfighter's needs and is flying today," EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby, Jr., said in a news release. "With the KC-45, America's warfighters have a mature, mission-ready answer for their critical refueling requirements."
The A330 MRTT also has refueled F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, and E-3 AWACS. See more tanker coverage [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Airbus Military reveals work on SIGINT A320

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has begun bench testing systems for a signals intelligence variant of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], as part of a drive to expand its offering of military derivatives of Airbus commercial platforms.
Equipment is being tested at one of the company's facilities near Madrid under a self-funded feasibility study, says Miguel-Angel Morell, senior vice-president engineering and technology. He confirms that applications being tested "are electronic, communications and signals intelligence".
Senior vice-president commercial Antonio Rodriguez-Barberán says: "We have initiated preliminary conversations with some potential customers with regard to an application of this type. We will do this with the same philosophy as our other platforms: we are there to win."

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Previous efforts to offer a development of the A321 for NATO's alliance ground surveillance requirement and an A319-based maritime patrol aircraft to the Indian navy failed to secure production orders.
Meanwhile, Airbus expects to receive military certification for its A330-based multirole tanker transport in July, clearing the way for the type (below) to enter delayed service with launch customer the Royal Australian Air Force before the end of the year.

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Canberra's first two of five renamed KC-30As have transferred more than 250t of fuel during development and certification testing, says A330 MRTT chief test pilot Eduardo Cuadrado García

EADS: RAAF tanker progress shows maturity of U.S. offering
The fourth of five Airbus A330s set for delivery to the Royal Australian Air Force as multi role [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] transports has arrived in Australia for military conversion, EADS North America [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Thursday.
"This latest milestone underscores the maturity of EADS North America's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] tanker offering, which is based on the A330 MRTT already selected by Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," EADS North America said, adding that it also shows EADS' ability to do military conversion in customer countries. EADS North America plans to assemble its KC-45 tanker at a new plant in Mobile, Ala.

First Airbus Military A330MRTT for UK Royal Air Force leaves hangar

27/08/2010
The first A330 MRTT Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) for the UK Royal Air Force has completed the in-door trials, such as systems trials, required prior to First Flight and has been rolled out of its hangar at Airbus Military’s Getafe, Madrid facility to continue with the out-door trials, such as fuel trials and others.


Once all trials are successfully completed, the aircraft will be handed over to the Flight Test Team for First Flight which is due in the first part of September. The aircraft has been converted from a basic A330-200 airframe by Airbus Military. Following the flight-test programme it will be delivered late next year to the AirTanker consortium responsible for operating the aircraft on behalf of the UK Royal Air Force.

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