Multinational MRTT Unit

Multinational MRTT Unit
Lineup	July 10, 2019
Country	Multinational
Armed forces	Belgian Air Force Air Force Armed Forces Luxembourg Koninklijke Luchtmacht Norwegian Air Force Air Force of the Czech Republic; ; ; ; ;
Type	Multinational Air Transport Association
Locations	Eindhoven ; Airport Cologne / Bonn Airport
guide
Commander	Colonel Jurgen van der Biezen
Aircraft
Transport aircraft / ; helicopter	Airbus A330 MRTT

The Multinational MRTT Unit ( MMU ) is a NATO airborne unit that is being set up to command the aircraft of the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) . Which is to have its main location ( Main Operating Base ) at Eindhoven Airport , where the European Air Transport Command is also located, and a secondary location ( Forward Operating Base + ) at Cologne-Bonn Airport , the base of the flight readiness of the Federal Ministry of Defense .

assignment

history

The Dutch Air Force initially planned to purchase Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft to replace the two outdated McDonnell Douglas KC-10s . From this, on the initiative of the European Defense Agency, the plan for the establishment of a European tanker aircraft association developed and, in addition, the procurement via the Joint Organization for Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR) of initially four A330 MRTTs within the framework of NATO .

The establishment of a multinational tanker fleet was decided in November 2014 under the name Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF). At the beginning the contract only existed between the Netherlands and Luxembourg . In 2017, Germany and Norway also joined the project and, as the fifth member, Belgium in 2018. On October 24, 2019, NATO announced that the Czech Republic could be won as a further participating state. The participation of these six nations is intended to enable the procurement and operation of eight aircraft, which, however, belong to NATO and have Dutch registration / identification. The states that are responsible for the financing are granted exclusive rights of use.

The Multinational MRTT Unit as an operational association, was set up after several years of preparation on July 10, 2019 by the Chairman of the Multinational Executive Board (MEB) , Commodore Dick Kreiter in Eindhoven . Delivery of the eight aircraft ordered - military designation KC-30M - began on June 30, 2020 with the first aircraft. The second unit arrived in Eindhoven on August 10, 2020, a third is expected in November and all eight should be delivered by 2024.

Member states

The following countries support the Multinational MRTT Fleet Program:

Belgium Belgium
Germany Germany
Luxembourg Luxembourg
Netherlands Netherlands
Norway Norway
Czech Republic Czech Republic

structure

The unit is under construction.

Aircraft

serial number	Mark	Remarks
MSN1830	T-054	in service, Dutch cockade
MSN1911	T-055	in service, Dutch cockade
MSN1919	T-056	in production
MSN1945	T-057	in production
MSN1960	T-058	in production
MSN1982	T-059
MSN1989	T-060
0

Commanders

No.	Surname	Rank	nationality	Beginning	The End
01.	Jurgen van der Biezen	Colonel	Netherlands	since July 10, 2019

Web links

The Multinational MRTT Fleet on the OCCAR website

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Saskia Buschmann: Multinational tanker fleet takes shape. Bundeswehr , July 10, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019 .
↑ Factsheet - Multi Role Tanker Transport Capability (MRTT-C). In: www.nato.int. October 31, 2019, accessed December 7, 2019 .
^ Gareth Jennings: Czech Republic joins EU / NATO MMF tanker group. In: Jane's Information Group . October 24, 2019, accessed October 28, 2019 .
↑ Bob Fischer: Interview: Jurgen van der Biezen, first commander of the MMU. In: aerobuzz.de. August 21, 2020, accessed August 30, 2020 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g AIRBUS A330, A330neo, A340 PRODUCTION LIST. In: www.abcdlist.nl. August 11, 2020, accessed on August 12, 2020 .
↑ Volker K. Thomalla: The second A330 MRTT for the MMU landed in Eindhoven. In: aerobuzz.de. August 11, 2020, accessed on August 12, 2020 .
↑ Volker K. Thomalla: MMF has officially taken over its first A330 MRTT. In: aerobuzz.de. June 29, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020 .

[MMU-1] Saskia Buschmann: Multinational tanker fleet takes shape. Bundeswehr , July 10, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019 .

[2] Factsheet - Multi Role Tanker Transport Capability (MRTT-C). In: www.nato.int. October 31, 2019, accessed December 7, 2019 .

[3] Gareth Jennings: Czech Republic joins EU / NATO MMF tanker group. In: Jane's Information Group . October 24, 2019, accessed October 28, 2019 .

[4] Bob Fischer: Interview: Jurgen van der Biezen, first commander of the MMU. In: aerobuzz.de. August 21, 2020, accessed August 30, 2020 .

[abc-5] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g AIRBUS A330, A330neo, A340 PRODUCTION LIST. In: www.abcdlist.nl. August 11, 2020, accessed on August 12, 2020 .

[6] Volker K. Thomalla: The second A330 MRTT for the MMU landed in Eindhoven. In: aerobuzz.de. August 11, 2020, accessed on August 12, 2020 .

[7] Volker K. Thomalla: MMF has officially taken over its first A330 MRTT. In: aerobuzz.de. June 29, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020 .