Australia has entered a pact with India that will allow its Airbus Defence & Space A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTTs) to refuel aircraft operated by the Indian military.
The pact was signed on 21 November by Canberra’s minister for defence industry and capability delivery, Pat Conroy, and Indian minister for defence Shri Rajnath Singh, according to the Australian Department of Defence (DoD).
The pact will see Australia’s KC-30As – the local designation for the MRTT – take on the ability to refuel Indian armed forces aircraft.
“India is a top-tier security partner for Australia, and through our comprehensive strategic partnership we are continuing to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation that directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability,” says Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Reynolds, deputy chief of the Royal Australian Air Force.
“The ability to conduct air-to-air refuelling with the Indian armed forces elevates our interoperability and enables us to cooperate more effectively in a range of different scenarios.”
The DoD does not list the Indian aircraft types that will be cleared for refuelling from the MRTT apart from the Boeing P-8I Neptune, which is operated by India’s navy.
The DoD notes that there are already engagement activities around the P-8I, which is fundamentally the same aircraft as the RAAF’s P-8A but which features a significant amount of indigenous Indian equipment.
“The signing of this arrangement is the first step towards KC-30A refuelling the P-8I, increasing India’s reach and persistence in the Indo-Pacific region,” says the DoD.
Canberra already supports other regional air forces with the MRTT. In November 2022 it entered an air-to-air refuelling pact with South Korea, which also operates the MRTT.
In May 2023 the MRTT was cleared to refuel Boeing/Mitsubishi F-15Js of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and in August 2023 an RAAF MRTT refuelled Lockheed Martin F-16s of the Indonesian air force.
RAAF MRTTs also work with closely with the US military, and can refuel a number of US types.
