Sat, Sep 18, 2010
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.
File Photo
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.
File Photo
"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.
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