NATO orders additional A330 MRTT aircraft, onboards Denmark, Sweden
The onboarding of Denmark and Sweden comes a month after the two nations, alongside their Nordic counterparts of Finland and Norway, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to join the MFF.
NATO has 12 A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft on order under the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) pooling program (Airbus)
BELFAST — The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has placed an order for two additional Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, expanding the alliance’s air refueling and cargo transport capabilities.
Alongside the new buy, Denmark and Sweden joined the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) pooling program, “strengthening European strategic autonomy and collaborative defence capabilities,” in the process, said Airbus in a statement.
The A330 manufacturer announced both moves on Tuesday, noting that the order brings the total number of MMF aircraft to 12 units, while deliveries of the new tankers will take place in 2028 and 2029.
“Sweden and Denmark’s addition to the MMF programme expands the base of participating nations and reinforces European sovereignty in critical defence capabilities,” the European manufacturer said. “Funded by the Netherlands, Luxembourg, with the progressive incorporation of Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, the MMF programme allows these nations the exclusive right to operate the NATO-owned aircraft in a pooling arrangement providing commonality, interoperability and cost efficiency, a prime example of European operational defence collaboration.”
The onboarding of Denmark and Sweden comes a month after the two nations, alongside their Nordic counterparts of Finland and Norway, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to join the MFF to build up “air-to-air refuelling, strategic air transport and medical evacuation capabilities,” according to a statement.
MFF is operated by the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Unit (MMU), from its main operating base in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and a forward operating base in Cologne, Germany.
The pooling effort was originally founded in 2016 by the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Germany, Norway, Belgium and the Czech Republic have joined subsequently, outside of the latest expansion involving Denmark and Sweden.
The tenth MFF aircraft is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2026, notes a NSPA factsheet. Airbus produces and converts A330 tankers out of facilities in Toulouse, France and Getafe, Spain.
“There is a foreseeable increase of the MFF pool,” Jean-Brice Dumout, head of air power at Airbus Defence and Space said at the Paris Air Show this month. “I think many countries are realizing, with a number of fighters or other aircraft they have that can be refueled, that they have a need for fast deployment…..they all have the principle of being able to deploy fast and far. And for that, you need tankers.” He added that the tanker is currently being produced at an annual rate of four to five aircraft.
The A330 offers fuel capacity up to 111 tonnes and can accommodate a maximum of 300 troops or a 45 tonne payload, according to Airbus.
Based on the use of a boom and a hose and drogue combination, the tanker can provide a maximum fuel flow rate of approximately 2,200 litres per minute, and can fuel key fighter platforms like the Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen, F-16 and F-35.
