The first flight of a new tanker aircraft that will equip the Royal Air Force - as well as the Royal Australian, Royal Saudi and UAE air forces - has taken place in France. Royal Air Force tanker duties are currently performed by the VC-10 and Tristar aircraft, both of which are now elderly designs adapted from commercial airliners.

The new aircraft- the Airbus A330-200 - is based on one of the most modern jetliners in present airline service and, in militarised form, will fill the RAF's FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) requirement.

FTSA/ Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Under the terms of FSTA, 13 A330-200s are destined for the RAF, all of them acquired through a partnership between the MoD and AirTanker Ltd, which was established in March last year. The arrangement will be that AirTanker will own and maintain the 13 Airbuses, but they will effectively be part of the RAF's tanking force and liveried as such. If appropriate, however, AirTanker will lease individual aircraft out to commercial air travel groups at points where the RAF does not require a full complement of A330-200s.

Air-to-Air Refuelling

The A330-200's initial test flight was performed on June 4th, during which it was flown in various configurations while, onboard, engineers assessed how its systems were performing. When in service, the aircraft will be able to undertake air-to-air refuelling missions over 1,600 kilometres away from its operational base and, after this, loiter for up to two hours before returning back. The rate of fuel supply will be in the region of 5,000 litres every sixty seconds, and each aircraft will typically take 80 tonnes or more of fuel up with it on every sortie.

Since the fuel tanks required for the air-to-air refuelling role are already in place inside standard Airbus A330 airliners' wings, the -200's fuselage space will give it an additional transport role, in which capacity it will carry a maximum of 290 members of the British armed forces.

Military Tanker Capability

Overall, the A330-200 will give the RAF and other operators a military tanker capability way beyond preceding aircraft, being more reliable and more energy-efficient.

The FSTA fleet will operate mainly out of RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.