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Royal Air Force's new tankers take shape - A major milestone was reached as the first set of wings for the RAF's advanced new fleet of tanker aircraft left Airbus UK's Broughton plant in North Wales. The wings were loaded onto a giant Beluga aircraft to transport them to the Toulouse-based production facility where the new tanker aircraft will be assembled.
The wings are destined for the first of 14 A330-200 based tanker
aircraft ordered last year under an innovative £13 billion
contract with the AirTanker consortium. The Future
Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will replace the RAF's
long-serving fleet of VC-10 and Tristar tankers,
undertaking a range of transport and air refuelling tasks.
Witnessing the wings leaving Broughton, Minister for Defence
Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:
"Today's wing ceremony marks a significant stage in the life
of the Future Strategic Air Tanker and is good news for the
RAF and good news for industry and UK jobs.Chief of the Ai
r Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, said:- "Air-to-air
refuelling and strategic airlift are fundamental to the UK's
expeditionary capability and the Future Tanker is a crucial element of that capability. These aircraft will provide the RAF with the modern air-to-air refuelling and passenger air transport capability that is so necessary in this era of expeditionary operations." These state-of-the-art tanker aircraft will provide an important contribution to operations, enabling the RAF to continue its essential air to air refuelling tasks, as well as providing more reliable and economical transport for our personnel, delivering them to the heart of our operations around the world."
Phil Blundell, CEO AirTanker said “A great day for us and represents a major deliverable for Airbus Military. It’s great to see physical evidence of the project’s rapid progression and we look forward to delivery of the first aircraft to Airbus in Madrid for conversion in June.” (First 2 a/c being converted in Madrid, remainder in UK)Pete Scoffham, Head of Defence Capability Marketing at Airbus Military said: “It’s become clear that we need greater versatility, with all the aircraft able to undertake AAR and AT roles simultaneously. The A330-200 platform is ideal, as its fuel capacity exceeds that of the VC-10 whilst retaining its full passenger and cargo carrying capacity”.Pete Scoffham also pointed out that FSTA could take 4 Typhoons to Afghanistan in one hop. Capability comparisons: 75,000kg fuel VC-10, 110,000Kg A330; 41 tonnes cargo Tristar, 45 A-300; Tristar 260 pax, 290-38- A-330; VC-10 76 stretchers, A-330 120.Wg Cdr Steve Chadwick, OC 216 Sqn said: “The Royal Air Force is enormously excited by this milestone in a project that will offer us a significant increase in capability. We have complete confidence in our Air Tanker partners and their obvious motivation and commitment to deliver the aircraft we need.”While the basic aircraft will be assembled in Toulouse, there will be significant input into manufacture in the UK with the programme creating up to 600 jobs in the UK, as well as directly sustaining up to 3000 and indirectly a further 4500. Rolls-Royce at Derby is assembling the Trent 700 engines with technical support from its Filton plant, Airbus UK at Broughton and GKN Filton are involved in wing production, Cobham at Wimborne and Bournemouth is installing refuelling equipment and carrying out related conversion work, and Thales UK at Crawley, Raynes Park and Wells supplies simulators, defensive aids, avionics and mission planning systems.
The wings are destined for the first of 14 A330-200 based tanker
aircraft ordered last year under an innovative £13 billion
contract with the AirTanker consortium. The Future
Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will replace the RAF's
long-serving fleet of VC-10 and Tristar tankers,
undertaking a range of transport and air refuelling tasks.
Witnessing the wings leaving Broughton, Minister for Defence
Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:
"Today's wing ceremony marks a significant stage in the life
of the Future Strategic Air Tanker and is good news for the
RAF and good news for industry and UK jobs.Chief of the Ai
r Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, said:- "Air-to-air
refuelling and strategic airlift are fundamental to the UK's
expeditionary capability and the Future Tanker is a crucial element of that capability. These aircraft will provide the RAF with the modern air-to-air refuelling and passenger air transport capability that is so necessary in this era of expeditionary operations." These state-of-the-art tanker aircraft will provide an important contribution to operations, enabling the RAF to continue its essential air to air refuelling tasks, as well as providing more reliable and economical transport for our personnel, delivering them to the heart of our operations around the world."
Phil Blundell, CEO AirTanker said “A great day for us and represents a major deliverable for Airbus Military. It’s great to see physical evidence of the project’s rapid progression and we look forward to delivery of the first aircraft to Airbus in Madrid for conversion in June.” (First 2 a/c being converted in Madrid, remainder in UK)Pete Scoffham, Head of Defence Capability Marketing at Airbus Military said: “It’s become clear that we need greater versatility, with all the aircraft able to undertake AAR and AT roles simultaneously. The A330-200 platform is ideal, as its fuel capacity exceeds that of the VC-10 whilst retaining its full passenger and cargo carrying capacity”.Pete Scoffham also pointed out that FSTA could take 4 Typhoons to Afghanistan in one hop. Capability comparisons: 75,000kg fuel VC-10, 110,000Kg A330; 41 tonnes cargo Tristar, 45 A-300; Tristar 260 pax, 290-38- A-330; VC-10 76 stretchers, A-330 120.Wg Cdr Steve Chadwick, OC 216 Sqn said: “The Royal Air Force is enormously excited by this milestone in a project that will offer us a significant increase in capability. We have complete confidence in our Air Tanker partners and their obvious motivation and commitment to deliver the aircraft we need.”While the basic aircraft will be assembled in Toulouse, there will be significant input into manufacture in the UK with the programme creating up to 600 jobs in the UK, as well as directly sustaining up to 3000 and indirectly a further 4500. Rolls-Royce at Derby is assembling the Trent 700 engines with technical support from its Filton plant, Airbus UK at Broughton and GKN Filton are involved in wing production, Cobham at Wimborne and Bournemouth is installing refuelling equipment and carrying out related conversion work, and Thales UK at Crawley, Raynes Park and Wells supplies simulators, defensive aids, avionics and mission planning systems.
An Airbus A330 that will become the first of a new fleet of multi-role tanker aircraft has taken to the skies for the very first time in Toulouse, France.
The Airbus A330-200, which will replace the RAF's aging TriStar and VC-10 aircraft, completed its three-hour maiden test flight on schedule last Thursday, 4 June 2009.
As the aircraft was put through a series of manoeuvres covering the whole flight envelope, engineers conducted various compliance tests on the engines and onboard systems.
The Ministry of Defence ordered 14 of the A330-200-based tanker aircraft under a £13bn PFI (Private Finance Initiative) deal with Air Tanker Ltd in March 2008.
While owned and supported by Air Tanker, the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will fly in RAF 'colours' and undertake RAF air-to-air and passenger air transport tasks. The contract allows Air Tanker to make spare aircraft available for commercial use when not required for military duties.
In an air-to-air refuelling role, the new tankers will have the ability to offload 60 tonnes of fuel 1,000 miles (1,609km) from base, and remain on station for two hours.
The fuel necessary for refuelling operations, as well as for the A300 itself, will be carried in the same tanks as fitted to the standard Airbus A330 airliner leaving the cabin free for transporting up to 290 personnel, and the cargo holds free to carry equipment and supplies up to a maximum total payload of 44 tonnes.
The FSTA fleet will customarily carry a minimum of 80 tonnes (100,000 litres) of aviation fuel per aircraft. The fuel dispensing rate from the aircraft is approximately 5,000 litres per minute or about 80 litres per second. The wing pods alone refuel twice as fast as those in a Formula One pit stop.
The Airbus A330 represents a significant advance in capability over its predecessors and has won major international tanker procurement contracts including the Australian, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabian Air Forces. It will provide the RAF with improved reliability, performance and economy with around twice the refuelling capability of the current VC-10s.
RAF crews will operate the aircraft on military duties, together with some sponsored reservists employed by the contractor. The 27-year contract covers all aspects of the operation, including the provision of new infrastructure currently being constructed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the fleet's main operating base.
The Airbus A330-200, which will replace the RAF's aging TriStar and VC-10 aircraft, completed its three-hour maiden test flight on schedule last Thursday, 4 June 2009.
As the aircraft was put through a series of manoeuvres covering the whole flight envelope, engineers conducted various compliance tests on the engines and onboard systems.
The Ministry of Defence ordered 14 of the A330-200-based tanker aircraft under a £13bn PFI (Private Finance Initiative) deal with Air Tanker Ltd in March 2008.
While owned and supported by Air Tanker, the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will fly in RAF 'colours' and undertake RAF air-to-air and passenger air transport tasks. The contract allows Air Tanker to make spare aircraft available for commercial use when not required for military duties.
In an air-to-air refuelling role, the new tankers will have the ability to offload 60 tonnes of fuel 1,000 miles (1,609km) from base, and remain on station for two hours.
The fuel necessary for refuelling operations, as well as for the A300 itself, will be carried in the same tanks as fitted to the standard Airbus A330 airliner leaving the cabin free for transporting up to 290 personnel, and the cargo holds free to carry equipment and supplies up to a maximum total payload of 44 tonnes.
The FSTA fleet will customarily carry a minimum of 80 tonnes (100,000 litres) of aviation fuel per aircraft. The fuel dispensing rate from the aircraft is approximately 5,000 litres per minute or about 80 litres per second. The wing pods alone refuel twice as fast as those in a Formula One pit stop.
The Airbus A330 represents a significant advance in capability over its predecessors and has won major international tanker procurement contracts including the Australian, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabian Air Forces. It will provide the RAF with improved reliability, performance and economy with around twice the refuelling capability of the current VC-10s.
RAF crews will operate the aircraft on military duties, together with some sponsored reservists employed by the contractor. The 27-year contract covers all aspects of the operation, including the provision of new infrastructure currently being constructed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the fleet's main operating base.
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