NATO Multinational MRTT Fleet To Get Additional Airbus A330 Planes

Airbus has received a firm order for an Airbus A330 MRTT Multi-Role Tanker Transport from OCCAR, Europe’s organisation for the management of cooperative armament programmes.

The order, which OCCAR has placed on behalf of NATO’s Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA), follows the decision from Luxembourg to maximize its participation into the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) programme with a significant increase from 200 to 1,200 the number of flight hours contracted.

This ninth aircraft is part of the three additional options originally included in the contract. The order comes after the successful delivery of the first two aircraft, with training and operational activities already in place. The aircraft will be configured for in-flight refuelling, the transport of passengers and cargo, and medical evacuation operations.

The MMF programme is funded by the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Belgium and Czech Republic who have the exclusive right to operate the NATO–owned aircraft in a pooling arrangement, a prime example of European operational defence collaboration.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) initiated the MMF programme in 2012. OCCAR manages the MMF acquisition phase as Contract Executing Agent on behalf of NSPA. Following the acquisition phase, NSPA will be responsible for the complete life-cycle management of the fleet.