90 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS
Type: Three-crew air-to-air refuelling and transport aircraft
First fl ight: June 15, 2007 (A330MRTT), entered service May 2012
Powerplant: Two 71,100lb st (316kN) Rolls-Royce Trent turbofans
Dimensions: Span 197ft 10in (60.30m), length 192ft 11in (58.82m)
Weights: Empty 275,600lb (125,102kg), all-up 514,000lb (233,150kg)
Max speed: 547 mph (880km/h) at 40,000ft (12,192m)
Range: 9,200 miles (14,805km)
Capacity: 291 troops, 99,000lb (44,906kg) of cargo or
245,000lb (111,132kg) of fuel
Replaces: Vickers VC10 and Lockheed Tristar
Taken on charge: 14
Replaced by: N /AAIRBUS VOYAGER
By the late 1990s it was
recognised that the RAF
would require a new air-to-air
refuelling (AAR) asset to replace
its ageing fleet of Vickers VC10s
and Lockheed Tristars, which were
due for retirement at the end of the
next decade. Known as the Future
Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA),
the project’s aim was to secure a
multi-role tanker and transport
aircraft for the RAF.
In 2000, in a surprising move
(particularly for operational
military aircraft procurement), the
government of the day decided
not to purchase new aircraft but
instead opted to lease them via the
Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
The proposal was that the RAF’s
new tanker would be owned and
maintained by a private company,
which would also manage the
fleet, provide training facilities and
some personnel. The contractor
would also be able to lease aircraft
not required by the RAF to the
commercial sector. For its part, the
RAF would only pay for refuelling
and transport missions as necessary
but would be able to call on the
use of the whole fleet if required.
It would also supply aircrew and
maintain control and responsibility
of military missions.AIR TANKER
In January 2004 it was announced
that Air Tanker had been selected
to enter into final negotiations,
but it was not until March 2008
that the contract was finally
agreed, causing delays to the FSTA
in-service date.
The contract, lasting for 27
years until 2035 and costing
approximately £13bn (not
including inflationary increases)
over its lifetime, requires Air Tanker
to supply air-to-air refuelling,
air transport and aeromedical
evacuation capability, together
with associated support and
infrastructure.
The aircraft fleet comprises 14
Airbus A300-200s, nine of which are‘core’ airframes and the remaining
five are available as a ‘surge’
capacity. What this means in
practice is that the RAF has
immediate access to, and use of, nine
aircraft, while a further five, which
might be leased to other military
or commercial organisations, can
be recalled and made available in
times of need. However, there is
a provision to alter the number
of ‘core’ machines depending on
operational requirements.
Eight core aircraft will fly in
military markings and on the
military aircraft register. The
ninth will fly, without military
equipment, on the civilian list. It
will be operated by Air Tanker in
support of military and passenger
movements, including the
Falklands Air Bridge, for which
it became responsible in October- This aircraft, G-VYGA,
operates on a charter basis and is
flown by Air Tanker-employed
pilots with civilian cabin crew.
In addition to providing the
aircraft, Air Tanker was responsible
for constructing a two-bay purpose-
built hangar, an operational centre,
a training facility, providing
aircraft maintenance and despatch,
ground services, flight operations
and planning control, flight crew
training and support personnel.
LARGEST AIRCRAFT
The A300 MRTT (Multi-Role
Tanker Transport) is the military
derivative of the civilian Airbus
A300-200. Few internal changes
are required to adapt it for air-to-
air refuelling, and no additional
fuel tanks are fitted. Its wing shares
commonality with that of the four-
engined A-340, with the unused
engine hard points and piping,
making fitment of the wing-pods
relatively straightforward. It serves
with, or is on order for, a number of
air forces including Australia (launch
customer), the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
Singapore and now the UK. Other
air arms have the aircraft under
consideration, although it lost out
to Boeing in 2011 following the
troubled and controversial tender
process in the USA. In 2011 the
UK aircraft made its public debut at
the Royal International Air Tattoo
(RIAT) where it was formally
named Voyager.
It is the largest aircraft ever to serve
with the UK armed forces; with
a length of 193ft, a wingspan of
198ft and a MTOW of 514,000lbs
(233,150kg). It dwarfed the VC10
that it replaced.
The RAF aircraft can accommodate
eight NATO-standard cargo pallets
and the cabin itself has the capacity
for 291 passengers in a 2-4-21918 2018Top right
ZZ334 also fl ies as
G-VYGE when leased
for airline use. The
aircraft began life as
F-WWKJ in 2009 and
also appeared at the
2012 Farnborough
International Airshow
in the temporary
markings of MRTT1016,
to demonstrate the
Voyager concept to
potential buyers. ANDY
HAY/WWW.FLYINGART.CO.UKAIRBUS
VOYAGER
2012 TO PRESENT