Airbus Defence and Space (DS) announced an improved variant of the A330-200 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft during the annual Trade Media Briefing (TMB), held at the company’s Manching facility near Munich.
Airbus aims to evolve the A330 MRTT from a tanker and transport aircraft into a multimission platform of choice for future customers. (Airbus)
The improved aircraft is geared towards a number of expanding roles and capabilities. These were introduced to the media on 6 November by Ioannis Papachristofilou, Head of Marketing.
“The improvements are being prepared now,” Papachristofilou said, adding that the goal is to evolve the market-leading tanker-transport aircraft into a versatile multimission platform of choice for future customers.
As outlined by Papachristofilou, the expanded roles include VVIP transport; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); and as an airborne communications node through enhanced connectivity. The new capabilities centre around predictive maintenance and automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R).
The customised VVIP transport configuration features a fully furnished boardroom-style suite in parts or all of the upper deck, while maintaining the lower deck for cargo and the aircraft full aerial refuelling capabilities.
ISR and connectivity would involve utilising the MRTT as a high-end communications node based on beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) combinations and datalinks. The platform could also be used as a high-performance signals intelligence-gathering asset, given it already has the real-estate and power/cooling levels required to host the sensors and systems. On 5 June, Airbus performed a demonstration of the Network for the Sky infrastructure aboard an A310 testbed. “Clear, secure voice and data connectivity was exercised,” the company said.
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