AirTanker Subsidiary Signs 27 Year Contract
AirTanker, the EADS-led
consortium, announced Friday it signed a 27-year contract with the
UK Ministry of Defense for the provision of air transport and air
refueling capability to the Royal Air Force. The AirTanker
consortium has also completed its financing for the program,
raising approximately 2.5 billion pounds (EUR3.2 billion) for
investment in the fleet, a new state-of-the-art operational base
and associated infrastructure.
The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program includes the
provision of a fleet of 14 new tanker aircraft, based on the latest
generation Airbus A330-200 to enter service from 2011, replacing
the previous fleet of VC-10 and Tristar refueling aircraft. The
contract also includes provision for all necessary infrastructure,
training, maintenance, flight management, fleet management and
ground services to enable the RAF to fly air-to-air refueling and
transport missions worldwide. The A330 FSTA aircraft will be more
than 50% British by value. Through this agreement, EADS will become
the RAF's leading supplier of transport aircraft, complementing its
existing commitment to supply 25 A400M aircraft to the UK
forces.
"We are proud to be providing the RAF with the very best
air-to-air refueling solution available internationally," said EADS
CEO Louis Gallois. "The MoD's requirements are known to be highly
exacting, and we are grateful that its trust has been placed in
EADS and our consortium partners, Cobham, Rolls-Royce, Thales and
VT Group. For our part, this win further demonstrates the A330 as
the platform of choice for the world's refueling fleets and comes
on the back of our recent success in the US market. This award
strengthens our ongoing commitment to grow our business in the UK
in the long-term."
The Military Transport Aircraft Division (MTAD) is responsible
within the EADS Group for all military derivative programs based on
Airbus platforms. For the FSTA program, MTAD will be responsible
for the design and development of the A330 FSTA aircraft, and for
delivering them on-time to AirTanker, fully certified and MoD
qualified.
Carlos Suarez, Head of EADS Military Transport Aircraft
Division, added: "With this comprehensive service contract, we now
cover the full spectrum of customers' requirements. The A330-200
based tanker solution has now won the last five consecutive
military tanker competitions internationally. This demonstrates the
A330's superior capability, flexibility and economics."
As ANN reported, the KC-45A derivative of the A330-200
Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) was awarded the US Air Force's
KC-X contract last month, to the considerable consternation of
rival Boeing.
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