The Royal Australian Air Force will obtain an additional pair of Airbus Defence and Space KC-30A multi-role tanker transports (MRTT).
The two additional aircraft, which are based on the Airbus A330-200 airliner, will bring Australia’s fleet of the type to seven aircraft when they are delivered in 2018, says Australian defence minister Kevin Andrews in a statement.
The A330 MRTT is designated the KC-30A in Australian service. The two aircraft to be converted are now in service with Qantas Airways.
Commonwealth of Australia
The new aircraft will be covered under an update to Canberra’s current acquisition for the contract with Airbus, and the cost of the deal is pegged at A$408 million ($314 million).
The Australian deal comes shortly after two major wins for the A330 programme. China’s state aviation regulator signed a tentative deal for up to 75 A330s, a general agreement for 45 aircraft and a memorandum of understanding for 30, and South Korea announced that it had down selected the A330 MRTT over the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus for a four aircraft requirement.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
