Background
A Royal Air Force
Lockheed TriStar, converted L-1011-500 used as tanker-transports for over 20 years by the time of the new programme
The Vickers VC10 aircraft entered RAF service in 1966
The project was to provide a replacement of the Royal Air Force's fleet of Vickers VC10s from 2008 and the Lockheed TriStars around 2012. The need for a new fleet of air-to-air refuelling aircraft was first identified in 1997. The chosen aircraft were to operate from the same RAF air transport hub, RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as the replaced aircraft.
The use of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) rather than outright purchase by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was chosen in 2000. Under the PFI, the Royal Air Force (via the MoD) will pay for aerial refuelling and air transport missions as required. The Royal Air Force will continue to retain responsibility for all military missions, whilst the contractor will own, manage and maintain the aircraft, and also provide training facilities and some personnel. The private company will also be able to earn extra revenue by using aircraft for commercial operations when not required by the Royal Air Force; the most suitable of which would be leased air-refuelling missions for other European air forces. The RAF however will always have the 'first call' on aircraft, being able to mobilise the entire fleet in times of crisis.
Competition
Final bids for the project were received from the two competing consortia on 30 April 2003. [1]
Selection and contract negotiations
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 26 January 2004 that Air Tanker had been selected to enter into final negotiations to provide the RAF's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA). [2]
Following aircraft selection, the MoD began exclusive negotiations with the AirTanker consortium. However, beginning in April 2004, there were rumours about the fragile state of the contract negotiations. With continuing doubts over the FSTA programme, Marshall Aerospace, responsible for the conversion of the RAF's original TriStars, offered to buy and convert some of the large number of surplus commercial TriStars. [3]
On 28 February 2005, the MoD named AirTanker as its preferred bidder for the £13 billion contract. [4]
Development
The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 June 2007 that AirTanker had been given the approval it needed to continue with the project, allowing the company to seek the £2 billion private financing required to begin funding the aircraft. On 27 March 2008, a PFI deal was agreed with AirTanker, worth £10.5 billion over the course of the contract, and will involve fourteen converted A330-200 aircraft, being delivered from 2011, and being operated until at least 2035. [5] The contract will be paid for at £390 million per annum. Of this, running costs are £80 million, and the remainder covers the consortium's financing and profit [6] and the capital cost of the project, including aircraft and infrastructure. [7]
All aircraft will be equipped with a pair of wing-mounted aerial-refuelling pods, while only seven FSTAs will be fitted for centreline flight refuelling units (FRUs); each conversion will take about nine months. The AirTanker facility is based at RAF Brize Norton, where a two-bay hangar and support building will provide a maintenance facility, flight operations centre and office headquarters for the programme. [8] Lufthansa Technik will provide support, repair, and overhaul services. [9]
The first two development aircraft went through a comprehensive military conversion process and initial flight testing programme at Airbus Military's facility near Madrid. It was intended that the remaining twelve aircraft destined for the FSTA fleet would be converted by Cobham Aviation Services at their facility in Bournemouth, [10] but in June 2012, it was announced that the final ten aircraft would be converted in Spain to ensure that they were delivered on time and to cost. [11] The first aircraft to be converted in the UK arrived at Bournemouth Airport on 26 August 2011. Cobham held a ceremony to formally open the newly refurbished A330 conversion facility in Bournemouth on 2 September 2011. In a naming ceremony at RAF Fairford during the 2011 Royal International Air Tattoo, it was announced that the aircraft will be known as 'Voyager' in RAF service. [12]
In November 2010, it was suggested that the French Air Force might buy spare FSTA capacity. [13] [14]
The first completed aircraft arrived at RAF Brize Norton in December 2011; after a prolonged certification process, it began training flights in April 2012. [15] Following technical issues with the new Cobham-designed High Speed-Variable Drag Drogue when refuelling the Panavia Tornado, the drogues on the wing tip pods were replaced in early 2012 with standard Sargent Fletcher drogues, delaying the Release To Service clearance required to conduct air-to-air refuelling (AAR) operations. Certification was finally granted on 16 May 2013, and the first operational tanker flight launched on 20 May 2013. [16]
The Voyager started test flights refuelling the F-35B in 2015, with certification expected by mid-June 2015. This followed the Australian KC-30 variant completing refuelling trials with the F-35A in late 2015. [17]
Financial reviews
In March 2010, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a review of the scheme, which was unable to conclude that the Ministry of Defence achieved value for money. Despite managing the later stages of the procurement well, the MOD's ability to get the best deal it could was undermined by shortcomings in the way it conducted the procurement and assessed alternative options. Although the project to provide air-to-air refuelling and military transport aircraft has achieved its delivery milestones since contract signature, it is still likely to be delivered five and a half years later than planned. [7] However, all the follow-on milestones have been achieved on or ahead schedule, and in particular the delivery of each of the fourteen aircraft. The FSTA programme has been the first UK aircraft programme delivering on schedule and on budget since World War 2.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found that the aircraft specification did not feature the adequate protection required for flights into Afghanistan, and would therefore mean the Lockheed TriStar would continue to fulfil this role until 2016. This had been caused by the FSTA scheme beginning prior to the commencement of military operations in Afghanistan, and a significant delay in any decision being made on including the required protection systems within the contract. [20] However, the FSTA aircraft were quickly modified to fulfil the adequate protection, and Voyagers started operations into Afghanistan in December 2013.
The Lockheed TriStar retired from RAF service in March 2014 and the VC10 in September 2013.
The Airbus A400M Atlas is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The A400M is sized between the C-130 and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. It can carry heavier loads than the C-130 and can use rough landing strips. In addition to its transport capabilities, the A400M can perform aerial refueling and medical evacuation when fitted with appropriate equipment.
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an American tanker and cargo aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). A military version of the three-engine DC-10 airliner, the KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo Aircraft Program. It incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of aerial refueling and transport. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker following experiences in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The KC-10 was the second McDonnell Douglas transport aircraft to be selected by the Air Force following the C-9. A total of 60 KC-10s were produced for the USAF. The Royal Netherlands Air Force operated two similar tankers designated KDC-10 that were converted from DC-10s.
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about 75 mi (121 km) west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The Airbus A310 MRTT Multi-Role Tanker Transport is a military air-to-air refuelling, or in-flight refuelling tanker transport aircraft, capable of operating multi-role missions. The A310 MRTT tanker aircraft is a subsequent development from the earlier Airbus A310 MRT Multi-Role Transport, which was a military transport aircraft for passengers, cargo, and medical evacuation. The A310 MRT and A310 MRTT are both specialist military conversions of existing airframes of the civilian Airbus A310-300C wide-bodied passenger jet airliner.
The Airbus CC-150 Polaris is the designation for the civilian Airbus A310-300s which have been converted into multi-purpose, long-range jet aircraft for passenger, freight or medical transport and mid-air refueling for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refuelling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 16 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 68 aircraft, of which 51 had been delivered by 30 November 2020. A version of the A330 MRTT, the EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45, was selected by the United States Air Force for its aerial tanker replacement programme, but the programme was cancelled.
The Boeing KC-767 is a military aerial refueling tanker and transport aircraft developed from the Boeing 767-200ER. The tanker received the designation KC-767A, after being selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) initially to replace older KC-135Es. In December 2003, the contract was frozen and later canceled due to corruption allegations.
No. 1312 Flight Royal Air Force, commonly abbreviated to 1312 Flt RAF, is an independent flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Currently based at RAF Station Mount Pleasant in East Falkland, 1312 Flt are supporting at present the defence of the Falkland Islands and other nearby British Overseas Territories.
Air transport of the British royal family and government is provided, depending on the circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. This includes an Airbus Voyager of the Royal Air Force (RAF), No. 10 Squadron, and the King's Helicopter Flight, which forms part of the royal household. Civil aircraft and scheduled commercial flights are also utilised.
The EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45 was a proposed aerial refueling tanker aircraft based on the Airbus A330 MRTT. The United States Air Force (USAF) had ordered 179 KC-45As in the first stage of replacing the aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker tankers currently in service. However, the contest was reopened in July 2008, after Boeing's protest of the award was upheld. In response to the new contest, on 8 March 2010, Northrop Grumman announced it was abandoning its bid for the new contract, with its CEO stating that the revised bid requirement favoured Boeing. On 20 April 2010, EADS announced it was re-entering the competition and entered a bid with the KC-45. Eventually, the USAF selected the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.
The Lockheed TriStar is a retired air-to-air tanker and transport aircraft formerly in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). All are converted civilian Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar airliners—previously operated by British Airways and Pan American World Airways—and entered service with the RAF in 1984.
Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH is an aerospace manufacturer based in Dresden, Germany.
Airbus SE is a European multinational aerospace corporation. The company consists of three core units. Its primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Since 2019, Airbus is the world's largest manufacturer of airliners as well as the leading helicopter manufacturer.
The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is an American military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner. In February 2011, the tanker was selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) as the winner in the KC-X tanker competition to replace older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The first aircraft was delivered to the Air Force in January 2019. The Air Force intends to procure 179 Pegasus aircraft by 2027.
Omega Aerial Refueling Services Incorporated is an American aviation company that provides aerial refueling services for military customers.
AirTanker Services Limited, incorporated in England and Wales on 16 June 2007, is a private limited company in the United Kingdom (UK), which operates a British airline known as AirTanker, and is also an aircraft leasing and operating company.
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defense and space products and providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the corporate restructuring of European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS) into Airbus SE, and comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian divisions. It is said to be the world's second largest space company.
The Royal Air Force VIP Voyager, identified with the military aircraft registration of ZZ336, and more recently named by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as Vespina since June 2020, refers to a customised RAF Voyager KC3 owned by the AirTanker Holdings Limited and operated under lease by the Royal Air Force that is the first principal VIP transport aeroplane for the British royal family, the Prime Minister, and British government ministers. Whilst the RAF operates the United Kingdom's fleet of fourteen Voyagers, a militarised tanker transport aircraft; ZZ336 Vespina, the VIP Voyager refers specifically to one individual Voyager KC3 aircraft now painted in a United Kingdom livery, and fitted with secure satellite communications system, missile detection, 58 business-class seats, 100 'premium economy' standard seats, and media facilities, similar to other dedicated air transports of heads of state and government.
The Airbus CC-330 Husky is an in-development Royal Canadian Air Force version of the Airbus A330 MRTT based on the civilian Airbus A330. Nine aircraft will replace the existing Airbus CC-150 Polaris fleet of five aircraft in the strategic transport and air refuelling roles.
