When it comes to carrying prolonged air missions, tank aircraft are essential. Thanks to them, the fighters and other aircraft can remain in the air longer and complete their objectives without interruptions. With the arrival of the first Airbus A330 MRTT, the Air and Space Army It is now better prepared for this type of scenarios.
The European manufacturer has delivered the first of the three units planned this Friday at its Getafe facilities (Madrid), where the conversion line is located. As we can see, it is not a plane built from scratch for this, but an aircraft that, like the remaining two still pending, was part of the commercial fleet of Iberia.
Some more than three years ago, the Spanish airline and Iberia and the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement to transfer three Airbus A330 destined to be converted into cistern airplanes for the Air and Space Army. The initial calendar pointed to a delivery in 2023, but the conversion process accumulated delays and now when we began to see the results.
Of transporting passengers to repost fighters
The agreement with Iberia was not limited to the assignment of airplanes: it also contemplated, among other things, the formation of pilots, crews and technical personnel, in addition to continued maintenance during a given period. The instruction focused on members of wing 45, based on Torrejón, which will be the fate of this first unit and the remaining two.
María Ángeles Martí, responsible for transport, mission and replacement aircraft programs of Airbus Defense and Space, defined the aircraft as “THE BEST REPEACHING APPROVAL IN THE WORLD“For her part, the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, stressed that her incorporation is” a contribution to the European Pillar of Defense. “
The model received by the Air and Space Army is equipped with a flight refueling system through hose and basket. To this are added pioneer advances such as the Fly-By-Wire control for the refueling pole and a high-resolution 2D/3D digital system that significantly improves the visibility of the operators during the maneuver.
According to Airbus, the A330 MRTT has been designed to carry out refueling missions in the E-3, F-16, F-15, C-17, F-35A, E-7A, A-10C, F-22, P-8A, B-1B, B-2A and B-2H models through the rigid pole system; and of the F-18 models, Tornado, Rafale, M2000, F-35b, Eurofighter TyphoonAV-8B and JAS 39 through hose and basket.
The fleet of air arm aircraft of the Spanish Armed Forces is currently composed of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet. It is expected that new Eurofighter will be incorporated in the coming years, although it remains without being clear if it will also end up betting on the acquisition of US F-35 fighters.
The A330 MRTT not only stands out as a cistern plane, with a range of up to 16,000 kilometers and capacity to transport 111 tons of fuel. You can also operate as a transport plane, with space for 300 soldiers or up to 45 tons of payload, and even as a medical evacuation platform equipped with stretchers and stations of intensive cities.
It should be noted that Spain is not the only nation that operates the A330 MRTT. This replenishment is present in 15 countries. It has been commissioned by Australia, France, the NATO multinational fleet (MMF), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Spain and Canada. In total, 82 units have been sold.
Before their definitive conversion, the A330 in the hands of the Air and Space Army have already demonstrated their usefulness in key transport missions, since Evacuations in Niger and Sudan Even maneuvers such as Pacific Skies 2024. Now, those same units are in the process of transformation into Getafe to become MRTT tank aircraft.
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