WIREDGOV

Royal Air Force's new tankers take shape

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE News Release (040/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 25 February 2009

A major milestone was reached today as the first set of wings for the RAF's advanced new fleet of tanker aircraft left Airbus UK's Broughton plant in North Wales. The wings were loaded onto a giant Beluga aircraft to transport them to the Toulouse-based production facility where the new tanker aircraft will be assembled.

The wings are destined for the first of 14 A330-200 based tanker aircraft ordered last year under an innovative £13 billion contract with the AirTanker consortium. The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will replace the RAF's long-serving fleet of VC-10 and Tristar tankers, undertaking a range of transport and air refuelling tasks.

Witnessing the wings leaving Broughton, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:

"Today's wing ceremony marks a significant stage in the life of the Future Strategic Air Tanker and is good news for the RAF and good news for industry and UK jobs.

These state-of-the-art tanker aircraft will provide an important contribution to operations, enabling the RAF to continue its essential air to air refuelling tasks, as well as providing more reliable and economical transport for our personnel, delivering them to the heart of our operations around the world."

While the basic aircraft will be assembled in Toulouse, there will be significant input into manufacture in the UK with the programme creating up to 600 jobs in the UK, as well as directly sustaining up to 3000 and indirectly a further 4500. Rolls-Royce at Derby is assembling the Trent 700 engines with technical support from its Filton plant, Airbus UK at Broughton and GKN Filton are involved in wing production, Cobham at Wimborne and Bournemouth is installing refuelling equipment and carrying out related conversion work, and Thales UK at Crawley, Raynes Park and Wells supplies simulators, defensive aids, avionics and mission planning systems.

Notes to Editors:

1. The FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) cabin will be able to transport up to 290 personnel and the cargo hold 44 tonnes of payload. The aircraft represents a significant advance in capability over its predecessors, with improved reliability, performance and economy.

2. In its air-to-air refuelling role it will have the ability to offload 60 tonnes of fuel 1000 miles from base, and remain on station for 2 hours.

3. The £13Bn PFI contract will allow AirTanker to operate the aircraft on commercial tasks when not required for military duties. RAF crews will operate the aircraft on military duties, together with some Sponsored Reservists employed by the contractor. The contract was signed on 27 March 2008

4. The 27 year contract covers all aspects of the operation, including the provision of new infrastructure, currently being constructed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which will be the fleet's main operating base.

5. The AirTanker consortium comprises Cobham, EADS, Rolls-Royce, Thales and VT Group. The Airbus Military division of EADS will be responsible for designing, developing and converting the tankers and for delivering the completed aircraft to AirTanker.

6. For further information please contact the following Tim Lewis, Defence Equipment & Support Press Office, 0117 913 0526 tim.lewis684@mod.uk; Sqn Ldr Al Green, MOD Press Office, 020 7218 7950 al.green633@mod.uk; Mary Ann Griffiths, AirTanker, 01993 847804 maryann.griffiths@airtanker-services.co.uk

FSTA facts

The FSTA fleet will customarily carry a minimum of 80 tonnes (100,000 litres) of aviation fuel per aircraft.

80 tonnes per aircraft is roughly equivalent to:

* 444 Sumo wrestlers (average 180 kg each)

* 53 Mini Coopers (gross weight 1515 kg)

* 16 elephants (African, male, 5 tonnes each)

100,000 litres equates with:

* 400,000 cups of tea (250 ml each) - in Britain we drink 165 million cups a day, so we'd slurp through 400,000 in 35 minutes

* the capacity of 2,500 Mini Cooper petrol tanks (at 40 litres each)

* 370 average bath tubs (at 270 litres)

The total fuel dispensing rate from the aircraft is approximately 5,000 litres/min or about 80 litres per second. The wing pods alone refuel twice as fast as a F1 pit stop.

A Mini Cooper would be filled in less than 2 seconds.