New year brought cheer to Airbus Military with the selection by the Government of India of the company as the preferred bidder in the tender, for the supply of Airbus A330 MRTT for the IAF. Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey who was on a visit to Airbus’ main facility at Getafe, a suburb located in the outskirts of Spain, as well as its San Pablo factory in Seville, Southern Spain, reports:.

Dawn of the new year brought cheer to Airbus Military with the breaking news of the selection by the Government of India of the company as the preferred bidder in the tender, for the supply of Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The decision on the tender that was frustratingly abortive in the first attempt came after a prolonged and gruelling selection process which included extensive flight trials of the A330 MRTT in different parts of the country including operation from Leh, an IAF airfield located at high altitude in the mountainous region of Ladakh in the northern regions of the country. The A330 MRTT successfully demonstrated the capability of refuelling combat aircraft of the IAF of both Russian and western origin. This important milestone flagged by Airbus Military hopefully on the journey to success, will be followed by exhaustive parleys with the Indian Ministry of Defence that the global aerospace major hopes would lead to the award of the contract in 2013 for the supply of six of these platforms to substantially enhance the strategic capabilities of the IAF in the years to come. As per Domingo Ureña Raso, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Military, the company is fully committed to the next stage of the negotiations and ultimately to providing the IAF with what is unquestionably the most advanced tanker/transport aircraft flying and certified today.

Airbus Military

Airbus Military is well established in the world market with military transport aircraft operated by air forces in tactical and strategic roles and mid-air refuelling, as well as for other roles such as maritime surveillance and humanitarian aid. The company, borne out of Airbus and now a part of the EADS conglomerate, was formally established in April 2009 by the integration of the former CASA’s Military Transport Aircraft Division (MTAD) and Airbus Military Sociedad Limitada (AMSL) to form a single and streamlined organisation. MTAD, a division of EADS, was specialised in the design, development, manufacture and commercialisation of light- and mediumtransport aircraft of EADS CASA.

Today, with over 5,000 employees on its rolls, Airbus Military is the global leader in the market for military transport, tanker and surveillance aircraft. The company has the capability to design, develop, manufacture and provide to its customers worldwide both maintenance and product support for a comprehensive family of military transport aircraft with payload capability ranging from three to 45 tonnes, capable of undertaking a wide variety of operational missions. The product range includes the robust and operationally proven, three to nine tonnes payload, light- and medium-family comprising the C212, the CN235 and the C295 military transport aircraft, the futuristic 37-tonne four-engine A400M as well as the twin-engine A330 MRTT derived from the Airbus 330 commercial aircraft platform. Altogether, Airbus Military has received orders for about 1,100 aircraft from over 138 military and civilian customers. Up to the end of 2012, the company had delivered more than 850 aircraft against the orders received.

With its headquarters in Madrid, the capital of Spain, the company’s main facilities are at Getafe, a suburb located on the outskirts of the city. This is the facility where the newly assembled civil Airbus A330 airframes are flown in as “Green Aircraft” from Toulouse in France for conversion into multi-role tanker transport aircraft. The process of conversion of the Green Aircraft into an aerial tanker calls for extensive internal and external modification and is infinitely complex. The factory at Getafe has the most modern and elaborate infrastructure complete with laboratories and simulators for engineering training to support the A330 MRTT programme. The other major facility is the San Pablo factory in Seville in southern Spain which has matching infrastructure where the A400M final assembly line has been functional since 2007. The San Pablo factory in Seville is also responsible for the complete production and final assembly of the C212, CN235 and C295 light-medium military transport aircraft. This location also has an elaborate training facility for pilots and engineers and is equipped with both a Level D full flight simulator built by CAE of Canada for training of pilots on the C295 and a Thales-built A400M full flight simulator.

A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport

Derived from the successful A330-200 airliner platform, the Airbus Military A330 MRTT is the only new generation operational strategic tanker transport aircraft available in the world today. The tanker aircraft has an integral fuel capacity of 111 tonnes obviating the need for fitment of additional fuel tanks for its in-flight refuelling role. The A330 MRTT is offered by the company with a choice of proven mid-air refuelling systems, including an advanced Airbus Military aerial refuelling boom system and/or a pair of under-wing hose and drogue pods and/or a fuselage refuelling unit.

Thanks to its true wide-body fuselage, the A330 MRTT can also be employed as a pure transport aircraft able to carry 300 troops or a payload of up to 45 tonnes. It can also easily be converted to accommodate up to 130 stretchers for medical evacuation (MEDEVAC). Till date, a total of 28 A330 MRTTs have been ordered by four customers including Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Of these, a repeat order has been placed by Saudi Arabia. So far six platforms have been delivered beginning with the first in May 2011. Airbus Military plans to enhance the rate of delivery of the A330 MRTT aircraft from the current one every four months to one every three months. In case the final decision is in favour of the A330 MRTT, India will be the fifth nation to commit to this type of aerial tanker.

Training Facility

As an industry leader in military transport aircraft and mission systems, Airbus Military has amassed years of experience in technical and operational training. The company is constantly developing new skills and knowledge to meet the most demanding training requirements of current complex aviation systems. Airbus Military has the capability to design, develop, produce and assist with training at different levels of complexity, from the multimedia interactive training system or flight training device (FTD) up to advanced full flight simulators (FFS). Airbus Military has developed full flight simulators for its entire aircraft family. At its International Training Centre located at the company’s state-of-the-art San Pablo Plant at the Seville international airport, Airbus Military has invested in and installed Level D full flight simulators for C295, CN235 and A400M aircraft. This is responsible for training of pilots, maintenance technicians and military mission system operators. Over the last 20 years, more than 2,500 aircrew and 7,300 maintenance personnel have been trained at this facility.

(To be continued)