Completes Operational-Scenario Mission With NATO F-16
Fighters
The A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), which is an
Airbus Military program, has achieved a new milestone with its
first nighttime refueling operation using the advanced Aerial
Refueling Boom System (ARBS) integrated on the first Australian
A330 tanker.
The Royal Australian Air Force A330 MRTT transferred more than
3,300 pounds of fuel through the ARBS during a multi-contact
mission involving two F-16 fighter aircraft.
This flight confirmed the ARBS’ nighttime operational
capabilities with its 3-D enhanced vision system, which includes
laser infrared lighting and high-definition digital stereoscopic
viewing. It also validates the boom’s handling qualities as
integrated on the A330 MRTT.
The nighttime refueling mission is part of final flight testing
for the A330 MRTT. This marks another step in preparations for the
startup of A330 MRTT deliveries to Australia, which is one of four
countries to order the next-generation tanker to date. “Night
refueling is one of the most challenging missions for our
warfighters, and the A330 MRTT has once again demonstrated its
superior capabilities as the only next-generation tanker aircraft
in production today,” said Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., the Chairman
of EADS North America. “Completion of this significant
milestone reinforces the fact that the A330 MRTT is able to meet
the most demanding U.S. Air Force requirements.”
The Royal Australian Air Force’s A330 MRTT is similar in
configuration to Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 Tanker offered for
the U.S. Air Force. Australia's A330 MRTT incorporates the Airbus
Military Aerial Refueling Boom System with all-electric,
fly-by-wire controls, plus two digital hose-and-drogue pods under
the wings. The advanced ARBS can deliver fuel at 1,200 U.S. gallons
per minute, a key requirement for the U.S. Air Force's tanker.
This mix of boom and pod refueling technologies ensures the A330
MRTT and KC-45 can transfer fuel to all types of receiver aircraft
during a single mission without reconfiguration. The KC-45 also
offers a centerline hose-and-drogue fuselage refueling unit. To
date, the ARBS installed in the Australian A330 MRTT aircraft has
performed more than 70 contacts and transferred more than 40,000
pounds of fuel. Overall, the ARBS has completed more than 250 wet
and dry contacts with a wide range of receiver aircraft, in a full
range of operating conditions and throughout its flight envelope,
during evaluations aboard the A330 MRTT and from a test-bed
aircraft.
Deliveries of the five A330 MRTTs ordered by Australia will
begin in mid-2010. Conversion is complete for the first two
aircraft, and the process is ongoing for a third at Qantas Aviation
Services in Australia. A total of five A330 MRTT aircraft currently
are in the conversion and flight test process by Airbus Military:
the three for Australia, plus two for the United Kingdom. In
addition, the first A330 MRTT for the Saudi Royal Air Force will
arrive to undergo its conversion in November.