Airbus said at the Pacific Airshow that it is considering increasing production of its A330 Multi-Purpose Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft to meet the “very high” demand. Strong interest from both existing customers and potential new buyers is leading Airbus to significantly increase its annual production capacity.
Global Tanker Shortage and Rising Demand for MRTT
“We are examining the price increase of the MRTT based on the signals we receive from customers,” Airbus’ head of air power Jean-Brice Dumont told a press conference, stressing that the review was “more than just a review.” Airbus currently produces four to five A330 MRTT aircraft a year, but Dumont said “we will need to increase this significantly”, adding that demand for tankers was very high.
Europe faces critical capability gaps in air-to-air refueling, according to the European Defense Agency. Airbus had delivered 36 A330 MRTT aircraft to European customers as of the end of April, with orders for six more. This number remains small compared to the United States’ tanker fleet of more than 400 aircraft.
Dumont estimates there could be a market for an additional 10 to 20 aircraft in Europe, with more demand expected in the rest of the world, he told Defense News. He added that the MRTT market is difficult to quantify because it is “quite dynamic” and demand “comes and goes.”
NATO Pool and New Customers
Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark signed a letter of intent to join NATO’s European MRTT fleet earlier this month, providing a concrete indication of demand. Denmark announced plans to join the European tanker pool in March, saying its participation, including the potential purchase of two MRTT aircraft, would cost an estimated 2025 billion Danish crowns ($2033 billion) between 7,4 and 1,1.
According to Dumont, Airbus is seeing interest from countries looking to join the European pool, as well as from existing individual customers looking to grow their fleets in the current security context, as well as potential new customers. “A little bit of everything,” he said, emphasising the diversity of demand.
The UK is the largest European operator of the A14 MRTT with 330 aircraft, while France operates 12 and has three more on order. Six European countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, have combined their tanker requirements into NATO’s multinational fleet, which operates nine aircraft and has one more on order.
“There is a foreseeable increase in the pool, I think many countries are realizing that they need to be able to deploy quickly because they have a number of fighter jets or other aircraft that can be refueled,” Dumont said. “So the pool is an answer.”
International operators include Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Airbus says the A330 MRTT has a market share of more than 90 percent of air-to-air refueling aircraft outside the United States.
Production Challenges and Future Plans
Airbus faces a series of thresholds to increase tanker production, requiring investments to resolve industrial bottlenecks and align vehicles, Dumont said. “And then we can go much higher, but that’s another story,” he added.
One question was whether Airbus had the hangars to handle the higher output or would need to build new hangars. Dumont noted that the company was converting A330 planes assembled in France into tankers at its facility in Getafe, south of Madrid.
Dumont also said the company is developing a new version of the A330neo, with more fuel-efficient engines and an improved wing. Close to signing a launch customer for MRTT+ He said that the first MRTT+ is in production and the aircraft It is targeted to be delivered by the end of 2028. He added to his words.
New Capabilities for A400M Transport Aircraft
In addition to the A330 MRTT, Airbus New capabilities for A400M transport aircraft These included increasing the load capacity by 3 tons to 40 tons and unmanned aerial vehicle "mothership" or electronic warfare platform for remote jamming “We are testing dropping a drone from an A400M, then controlling a drone from an A400M,” Dumont said.
