Airbus Military - A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT)

Recent conflicts have demonstrated the ever increasing need for a new generation of modern tankers that are more capable and more versatile. Aging tanker fleets no longer satisfy present requirements due to their lack of fuel capacity, range, payload and mission endurance, and their obsolescence of avionic systems and high maintenance costs.

Maintaining an adequate air refuelling capability is critical to the success of any military intervention. However, tankers now need to be able to perform more than their dedicated refuelling operations, and need role flexibility to increase the scope of their missions.

The A330 MRTT is a modern adaptable platform that can carry more passengers and more freight than any competitors while performing its air-to-air refuelling mission.

Tanker/ Transport missions can be divided into three main categories: combat air patrol support, military aircraft deployment and airlift support.

These missions require the following capabilities:

•Air-to-air refuelling
•Cargo transport
•Passenger/troop transport
•Medical evacuation
•Mission planning
•Tactical communications and military navigation

Airbus Military, a business unit of Airbus is responsible for all military transport aircraft derivatives, including the Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). Airbus is an EADS company. Airbus Military has been working for nearly ten years on the development of air-to-air refuelling solutions based on the wide body and long range Airbus families (A310/A330) offering quality, versatile, low risk and cost-effective products. Airbus Military incorporates the full range of skills required to design, develop, manufacture, test, certify and support state-of-the-art tanker kits installed and integrated in Airbus platforms, to match the most demanding customer requirements.

In 2000, Canada and Germany respectively contracted two and four 310 MRTTs. The first CC-150 Polaris (Canadian designation) has successfully been delivered in 2004 to the 8 Wings 437 Transport Squadron Husky based at CFB Trenton.

The German aircraft have been operating since 2004 within the 1 Staffel based at Köln-Wahn. Both countries have been intensively involving their A310 MRTTs in military operations e.g. Afghanistan or relief missions e.g. Pakistan.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Military

[troyboy4109]

look has anyone here read a330 amm talk about wtf you need a english degree to understand it eg; whats a inch pound foot seen that one hope customers get what theyve paid for and note a cheap POS that airbus build and have plastics fall off like typical 330's

[KidKlassic91]

cool stuff , never knew it was this capable

[pcrispie]

I'm working on this modification and it's a great aircraft. I wouldn't be biased to either Boeing or airbus, it serves it's role well depending on the customers specifications. So you idiots bringing up the SPANISH ARMADA AND INQUISITION? Why? Wierdos! What has any of that got to do with this? When you grow the brains to be able to work on aircraft then you may comment.

[frylucas]

A330 MRTT = All In One

[LottoWinner999]

@SAACAAS Sounds like your a sadistic catholic like a Adolf Hitler and Spain had plent peasents to cut down the forrests. They say Spain hills and mountain were beautiful with the trees until you sicko King had all them cut down for the Spanish Armada was another Spanish Fiasco. I'll bet you make love with your neighborhood Catholic Priest that butt fucks and sodomizes your over streched asshole and your big fucking mouth!

[LottoWinner999]

@SAACAAS 125,000 persons were investigated by the Spanish Inquisition, and every one was put ot the question and executed. There were two major Inquisitions, the Medieval Inquisition and Spanish Inquisition. Although there are no exact numbers, scholars believe they have estimated Inquisition deaths reasonably accurately. Of course to be put the question was torture and you should Goyas etchings and prints of the Spanish Inquisition showed Catholic priests just as sadistic as the Nazi SS!

[LottoWinner999]

@EstorilEm Your not an American but your full of shit & if U fly an airplane it has a rubber band. U have never seen a KC-135 in mid-air refueling. B-767 Tanker has offense & Defensive ability. Its easy to upgrade the 767 with fuel saving engines & modified wing. I do no trust Europeans to build USAF military aricraft especaiily with repairs + trying to bug the plane with electronics which means AB cannot be trusted + plus French, Germans & Brtis have big mouths.

[LottoWinner999]

@EstorilEm Hey the A330 (FPO) Flaming Piece of Shit is 30 years old + sucks gas while upgraded Boeing 767 Tanker is allot more plane than any European piece of crap. Plus it crashed allot with frozen Pitot Tubes like the four A330s & A320s that have crashed from defective Pitot Tubes. Boeings have 2 electronic wind speed indicators & 2 mecahnical wind speed indicators that have never caused a crash like Airbus. If Airbus taught pilots Dead Reckoning they might have saved their lives and planes.

[LottoWinner999]

@cheesemaster1000 The pirated the engines + did not pay 1 royalty 1 thats okay + now Boeing has Exclusivity Contract on GE-C90 and NexGen engines. Now RR is going to charge Airbus a billion euros to design a new engine cuz Trent does not have the thrust for the two bigger A350s. BTW it takes 5 to 10 years to design, develop, build and test a new engine so your A350-SDL(Super Delay Liner) is going to be a later like A380-WE(White Elephant) Keep on build losers cuz they will Bankrupt Airbus POS!

[cheesemaster1000]

@LottoWinner999 What about MD, did they "pirate" copy the engines too? haha, oh you're too much.