Airbus Defence and Space, part of the Europe-based global major Airbus aerospace group, announced on Monday that it had signed two major contracts with agencies of the French Ministry of Defence, for the enhancement and support of that country’s fleet of A330 multirole tanker transports (MRTT). The contracts have a total value of €1.2-billion.

In French service, the A330 MRTT is known as the Phénix. The contracts are with the country’s Direction general de l’armement (DGA) and the Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé). The contract with the DGA covers an increase in the jamming-resistant communications capabilities of the aircraft as well as converting them into high bandwidth communications nodes with command-and-control capabilities; once converted, the aircraft will be designated as Phénix Standard 2. The contract with the DMAé will see Airbus provide in-service support for the French MRTT fleet for ten years, with an option to extend the contract by two further years.

“We thank the French Ministry of Armed Forces for its continued trust in the Airbus A330 MRTT and we are honoured to contribute to one of France’s most strategic capabilities through this programme,” affirmed Airbus Defence and Space Military Air Systems head Jean-Brice Dumont. “With this new capability of the aircraft, we are preparing the future by transforming the MRTT into an in-flight communications node, as the first building block of the multi-role tanker transport of tomorrow, embedded in the [French-German-Spanish] Future Combat Air System.”   

The French MRTT fleet will ultimately total 15 aircraft, of which 12 have been delivered. The first aircraft to be equipped to Standard 2 will actually be the fifteenth and final aircraft on order. It will be fitted to this standard at the Airbus facility in Getafe, Spain, and is expected to be qualified for French Air Force service in 2028. The upgrading of the other 14 will then follow, undertaken at Istres air base, in France.

The in-service support contract will also be implemented at the Istres air base. The new contract will see the size of the Airbus team at Istres doubled. It will cover logistics, maintenance, technical support and modernisation, to ensure the availability of the French MRTT fleet. 

The 12 MRTTs currently in French service (with the 31st Strategic Air Refuelling and Transport Wing) have so far accumulated more than 18 000 flying hours. Once the fifteenth example has been delivered, France will have the biggest MRTT fleet in the world.