International success with NATO and allied countries
The KC-30 is based on the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), which has won four consecutive international competitions – selected by Australia, Great Britain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
These decisions further consolidate the A330 MRTT’s position as the world’s most operationally-flexible global aerial refueling platform, and the airlifter of choice for military forces’ demanding operational requirements.
The fleet of five A330 MRTTs to be operated by Australia will provide refueling services for the country's F/A-18s, F-111s and Joint Strike Fighters, as well as its AWACS airborne warning/control aircraft. The simultaneous availability of a new-generation fly-by-wire boom and digital hose & drogue refueling systems - a capability shared by the KC-30 - ensures that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) can support its own military aircraft, as well as contribute to joint operations with the capability to refuel all types of Coalition aircraft.
On a typical RAAF mission, the A330 MRTT will enable a non-stop deployment of six F/A-18s from Darwin, Australia to Butterworth in Malaysia while carrying 95,000 lb. of support equipment and stores. This is approximately the same operating distance from Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire (55 miles north of Boston, MA) to Reykjavik, Iceland.
Included in the Australian A330 MRTT package is a hospital bed kit for emergency medical evacuations. The aircraft also is fitted with an electronic warfare self-protection suite for defense against surface-to-air missiles. Deliveries of A330 MRTTs to the RAAF are scheduled to begin in 2008, with the aircraft entering operational service in 2009 following operational test and evaluation.
The A330 MRTTs for Saudi Arabia and UAE will have the same fly-by-wire centerline boom and underwing digital hose & drogue refueling pod arrangement as used on Australia’s tanker/transport aircraft and the KC-30 Tanker.
For the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, its A330 MRTTs will each be able to deliver 65 tons of fuel at a distance of 1,000 miles from base, following up to two hours on station. Fuel will be offloaded through wing-mounted pods with hose and drogues. All of the tanker's fuel is carried entirely within existing tanks in the wing and tail. This leaves the entire cabin free for some 295 seats in the A330 MRTT's troop-transport role, and its entire cargo hold available to carry military equipment on pallets or in containers.
