급유기 캐나다, 에어버스와 A330 MRTT 9기 도입 계약 체결

[위종민]

캐나다군이 에어버스와 A330 MRTT 공중급유기 9기 도입계약을 체결했다고 7월 25일 발표했습니다. 계약규모는 36억 캐나다 달러(27억 달러)입니다. 

4기는 신조기이고, 5기는 중고 A330-200 기체의 개조기로 납품될 예정입니다. 수 개월 이내에 1번기가 납품될 예정이라고 하는데, 개조작업 자체도 거의 완료됐는지 중고개조기 1번기는 올 여름 말 납품돼 VIP 수송 용도로 우선 쓰일 예정이고 가을에 납품될 2번기부터 공중급유기로 쓰인다고 하네요. 

이 기체들은 노후화돼 가는 캐나다 공군의 CC-150 폴라리스 (A310 수송기/공중급유기 개조형, 5대중 급유기는 2대) 수송기를 대체할 예정이며, 당초 보잉 KC-46 도입을 고려했으나 2021년 고려대상에서 제외하고 2022년 5월에 에어버스에 제안 요청을 했다고 합니다. 

https://breakingdefense.com/2023/07/canada-awards-airbus-2-7-billion-tanker-deal-for-9-planes/

Canada awards Airbus $2.7 billion tanker deal for 9 planes

After previously signaling Airbus’s A330 Multi-role Tanker Transport would best fill the role, the Canadian government formally awarded the company a contract to convert five used jets and build four new ones.

By   MICHAEL MARROWon July 25, 2023 at 5:56 PM

A Royal Australian Air Force A330 MRTT (Airbus)

WASHINGTON — Canada’s National Defence Department announced today that it has awarded a contract to Airbus for a total of nine aircraft to modernize its refueling fleet, a $3.6 billion CAN ($2.7 billion US) deal that should see delivery of the first jet to the country within months.

“As autocratic regimes threaten the rules-based international order, there is a pressing need to modernize the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Air Force in support of North Atlantic Treaty Organization and North American Aerospace Defense Command operations,” Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand said in a statement.

“The Strategic Tanker Transport Capability brought forward today with the contract award for renewed air-to-air refueling, strategic transport and aeromedical evacuation capabilities, will deliver modern equipment for our Canadian Armed Forces, who put their lives on the line every single day to defend our shared continent with the US, and support our allies in time of need,” she added.

The contract covers the new build of four A330 MRTTs and the military conversion of five used A330-200 aircraft, a decision the Canadian government said saved the country’s taxpayers millions.

Four of the used aircraft are set to be used as refuelers, while the fifth — the first destined for delivery later this summer — will initially transport high-ranking government officials and could take on the tanker mission later. The second used aircraft is expected in the fall, with the next three to follow next year, according to a summary compiled by Canada’s Defence Department.

An Airbus press release further stated the first of the newly-built tankers will be delivered in 2027 and that all MRTTs will feature both a hose and drogue and boom for refueling.

The tankers will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s aging CC-150 Polaris fleet to provide refueling, cargo and passenger transport and aeromedical evacuation. While Canada operates five CC-150s, only two of them are capable of refueling. That means the NATO member’s mid-air refueling capacity is about to quadruple with the new agreement.

Canada had previously considered Boeing’s KC-46 for the role but reportedly dropped the company’s tanker from consideration in 2021, subsequently issuing a request for proposals to Airbus in May 2022. The country’s forthcoming tankers will be designated the CC-330 Husky.

Airbus is currently pitching the A330 MRTT in partnership with Lockheed Martin to the US Air Force as the LMXT, though officials have stated they are leaning toward more purchases of Boeing’s KC-46A to continue recapitalizing America’s current KC-135 Stratotanker tanker fleet.

[백선호]

이 급유기는 여객기의 객실 부분에 연료탱크를 새로 만들어 넣는 것이 아니고 그냥 원래 있던 자기 연료탱크에서 기름을 빼서 주는 것이라 개조가 간단하지요. 객실에 그대로 사람과 간단한 화물을 실을 수도 있고요.

[위종민]

아 원래 기체에 붐이랑 프로브 달고 관련 시스템만 장착하면 되겠네요. 330이 자체연료 탑재량이 충분한가 보네요 ㅎㅎ