The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), the French defence procurement agency, announced on its website on 6 September that it had received France's fifth A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Phénix aircraft at Airbase 125 ‘Charles Monier' in Istres on 2 September. The agency said it was the second of three MRTTs it plans to receive in 2021.
The DGA received France's fifth MRTT Phénix at Airbase 125 ‘Charles Monier' in Istres on 2 September. (DGA)
France's Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Force, AAE) is scheduled to receive a total of 15 MRTTs by the end of 2023 under France's Loi de Programmation Militaire 2019–2025 military funding programme: two years earlier than originally planned, according to the DGA.
The agency said the A330 MRTT's range of capabilities will allow it to replace several fleets of older aircraft: C-135FR and KC-135FR tankers and A310 and A340 strategic troop and cargo transport aircraft.
The DGA said the A330 Phénix supports AAE quick reaction alert aircraft defending French airspace, force projection, and the air leg of France's Force de Frappe, consisting of Rafale combat aircraft armed with Missile Air-Sol Moyenne Portée Amélioré (ASMPA) improved nuclear air-to-surface missiles. The MRTTs also provide emergency medical evacuation, notably in Sahel, where they have been deployed, the agency added.
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