Aircraft Is Similar To The Proposed EADS KC-45

The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA), designed and built for the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF), completed a successful first flight Thursday after being configured for its tanker transport mission. The aircraft took off from Airbus Military's facility in Getafe, Spain, at 1141 local time, and landed back there after a flight of approximately two hours.

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The FSTA is the UK's configuration of the Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). "We now have A330 multi-role tankers in flight for two U.S. allies, with proven refueling systems that form the foundation of the KC-45 configuration," said EADS North America Chairman Ralph D. Crosby, Jr. "In other words, the tanker we are offering to the United States Air Force isn't just a concept on paper, it is real and proving itself every day."

The FSTA configuration includes two digital hose-and-drogue refueling pods under the wings, plus a hose-and-drogue fuselage refueling unit on the centerline. Both of these systems will be on the KC-45, as will be the company's advanced Aerial Refueling Boom System, which recently demonstrated in flight its ability to meet the U.S. Air Force requirement for high fuel offload at 1,200 gallons a minute.

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"Our platform is mature, our systems are proven and there are 48,000 American workers ready to build this ... tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force," Crosby said. Airbus says the KC-45, as well as A330-based commercial freighter aircraft, would be assembled in a new aerospace center of excellence in Mobile, AL, using a nationwide network of more than 200 American suppliers.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.eads.com