Canada Orders 4 Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker
Transport Aircraft
(27/07/23)
The Government of Canada has awarded Airbus
Defence and Space with a contract for four newly-built Airbus A330
Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft (MRTT) and for the conversion
of five used A330-200s in a quest to strengthen Canada’s
continental defence capabilities.
The current contract has an order value of
approximately CAD $3 billion or 2.1€ billion (excluding taxes).
Known as the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability
(STTC), this new fleet of aircraft will replace the ageing CC-150
Polaris (A310 MRTT), operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF).
The existing A310 fleet is being used to perform
air-to-air refuelling operations, military and personnel and cargo
airlift, medical evacuations, as well as strategic transport of
Government of Canada officials.
“As the world’s most advanced multirole tanker
aircraft, the A330 MRTT perfectly matches Canada’s needs to
protect its sovereignty as well as to enhance operations both in
the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) as well as in
NATO,” said Mike Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus
Defence and Space. “Canada achieves this enhancement of operations
not only by improving interoperability with other allied A330 MRTT
customer nations but also due to the aircraft’s technological
primacy ahead of the global competition.”
The newly-built A330-200s will be assembled at the
A330 aircraft Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France.
Scheduled
to enter into conversion at A330 MRTT facilities in Getafe, Spain
in mid-2025, the first MRTT will be delivered to the RCAF in 2027.
Under the agreement, the A330 MRTTs will be
equipped with both the hose and drogue and a boom as refuelling
options, cybersecurity solutions and countermeasures.
All of them
could be installed with the also included Airbus Medical
Evacuation kit solution, consisting of 2 Intensive Care Units and
additional stretchers.
The contract covers a full suite of training
services including the most advanced training devices such as the
Full Flight Simulator to prepare and maintain crew readiness as
part of the modernisation of the Canadian Armed Forces’ air
operational training infrastructure.
Airbus has been a leading industrial player in
Canada’s aerospace sector for almost 40 years. The company employs
over 4,000 people locally and sources approximately CAD $2 billion
from Canadian companies.
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