Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

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A-330-200 MRTT; here a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) was the project name for the new Voyager tanker of the British Royal Air Force (RAF). 14 Airbus A330-200 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) aircraft are being procured to replace the previous Vickers VC10 and Lockheed TriStar tankers.

history

At the initiative of the British government, two consortia were formed , each of which submitted their offer to participate in the tender for a future strategic tanker fleet for the British Air Force. This was a comprehensive air refueling and air transport service.

A joint venture called "Air Tanker" was launched between Thales (formerly Thomson Racal Defense), the British company Rolls-Royce , Cobham Halliburton, Brown & Roots and EADS . "Tanker Transport Service Consortium (TTSC)" was the name of the consortium made up of British Airways , Boeing , BAE Systems , Marshall Aerospace , Serco and Spectrum Capital . The offer from "Air Tanker" was based on the Airbus A330-200 MRTT, that of the TTSC was based on decommissioned Boeing 767 series from British Airways' stocks. The Airbus tanker already proved to be superior to Boeing's competitor model in the first tests. In the Boeing machine, the transport of LD3 or LD6 containers or military pallets is only possible to a limited extent, as there are several fuel tanks in the fuselage. The Airbus, on the other hand, only needs tanks in the wings for the fuel , which means that the fuselage is available for transporting passengers and the entire cargo space is available for transporting equipment.

In January 2004 the British Ministry of Defense decided on the “Air Tanker” concept. The main reason for choosing the A330-200 MRTT is the aircraft's high capacity. Even without additional tanks, the aircraft based on the Airbus A330-200 can hold 111 tons of fuel. 65 tons of it can be deposited in the aerial refueling roll during a two-hour flight - which corresponds to a distance of about 2000 kilometers.

The consortium thus became an industrial partner for the British Department of Defense's £ 13 billion program for future strategic air refueling. This is designed for a term of 27 years and is the largest privately financed initiative in the defense business to date. Production of the first FSTA began at the beginning of 2009, the first flight took place on June 4th of the same year. The first completed model was taken over in December 2011; After extensive tests, the first training flights began in April 2012. At the end of 2012 three aircraft and by the end of 2014 the nine aircraft of the RAF's core fleet had been delivered. While these nine aircraft have the usual military certification, the remaining aircraft, which form the reserve, fly with civilian certification. If available, these can be rented by other users from “Air Tanker”.

Versions

→ Main article: Airbus A330 MRTT

Voyager KC.2

Are equipped with the wings of the A330-200 MRTT two engines of the type Rolls-Royce Trent 700 and two Cobham 905e Wing pods on the wings which allow simultaneous filling of two fighters. Since the A330-200 MRTT is equipped with the same structures as the four-engine Airbus A340 , the wing pods are attached instead of the additional outer engines; seven copies.

Voyager KC.3

These machines have an additional Cobham 805E fuselage refueling unit for refueling larger aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules or A400M Atlas; seven copies.

Technical specifications

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Strategic breakthrough for EADS: British Air Force chooses AirTanker. In: eads.com. EADS, January 26, 2004.
  2. ^ Maiden test flight for RAF future aircraft. ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force, June 10, 2009 (English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.raf.mod.uk
  3. ↑ Voyager achieves its first flight in RAF service. In: airtanker.co.uk. AirTanker Ltd, April 8, 2012, accessed January 24, 2013 .
  4. ↑ TUI leases the RAF A330 from AirTanker Services , aerobuzz, November 16, 2017