Europeans Plan Joint Tanker Transport Fleet

The Netherlands, Norway and Poland are preparing negotiations with Airbus Military and Space on the acquisition of a joint fleet of four Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft.

Airbus Defence and Space photo

The negotiations will be conducted by the Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en Matiere d"Armement (Organisation for Joint Armaments Cooperation, OCCAR) as part of an initiative led by the Netherlands and supported by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).

According to the EDA, market research found that the A330 MRTT is the only off-the-shelf solution which will meet the three nations' capability requirements by 2020 for a tanker equipped with both a rigid boom and underwing pods so it can refuel a wide range of aircraft, in addition to being able to provide passenger transport, strategic airlift and medical evacuation. The aim is to sign the contract in 2016 for an initial operational capability in 2019.

The NSPA will acquire, own and maintain the four tanker transports, which could be based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The initiative, which is open to other nations during the acquisition and in-service phases, is expected to reduce the fragmentation of European aerial refueling capabilities, which currently consist of 40 tankers of nine different types.