Air force will have to wait until August as first converted aircraft undergoes test flights to assess aerodynamic impact
Delivery of the German air force's Airbus A310 Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTT) has slipped by several months, with the first of four aircraft now planned for acceptance during August 2004, instead of this month, as originally intended.
The aircraft is involved in a projected 80h flight-test programme, including refuelling flights with German air force Panavia Tornados and other work to assess the aerodynamic impact of modifying the transport for inflight refuelling. Germany's first modified A310 was rolled out at EADS's Elbe Flugzeugwerke site in Dresden late last year (Flight International, 16-22 December 2003) and made its debut flight from the facility on 12 March.
Contracted to an Airbus Deutschland and Lufthansa Technik consortium in late 2000, the MRTT conversion programme covers the modification of three German aircraft at the Dresden site. Germany's remaining aircraft will be converted at Lufthansa Technik's Hamburg facility, along with a further two A310s that will receive the same modification for the Canadian armed forces. All six conversions will be completed by mid-2005, according to consortium officials.
Germany's first modified aircraft has yet to transfer any fuel, says Olaf Scholz, Lufthansa Technik's sales executive for government and special mission aircraft, with current activity centred on clearing its hose-and-drogue refuelling system and addressing any aerodynamic flutter identified during testing.
The aircraft will continue with ground and flight test certification activities through mid year, before being delivered in early August. Scholz plays down suggestions that the companies are experiencing difficulties during the tanker conversion, but concedes: "There is no prototype, so of course there will be some issues."
The Airbus Deutschland/Lufthansa Technik team is now promoting its A310 MRTT conversion to nations unable to afford a more expensive solution, such as EADS's Airbus A330 or Boeing's 767 tanker conversions. In addition to its hose-and-drogue refuelling system, an A310 will also be used during the certification of an EADS-developed boom, opening a potential future market for operators of US types such as Lockheed Martin's F-16.
Lufthansa Technik is looking to further expand its military activities, which include providing support for military A310s in Belgian and German service and the past modification of additional German air force A310s for medical evacuation duties. "We are stepping further into the military market," says Scholz, who notes that the company is eyeing a potential role in programmes such as the conversion and support of commercial aircraft for NATO's future Alliance Ground Surveillance capability.
"We would also like to take part in [supporting] the [Airbus Military] A400M transport," he says, with Lufthansa Technik to potentially provide a "hole in the wall" component support service for the aircraft by using its existing global network of 60 line stations.
CRAIG HOYLE / BERLIN
Source: Flight International
