급유기 폴란드, 스페인과 협력해 A330 MRTT 공중급유기 도입 수량은 2기에서 4기로 확대

[위종민]

폴란드가 KC-46 대신 A330 MRTT를 도입하며 스페인과 사업을 공동으로 추진하기로 하고 도입 수량을 2기에서 4기로 늘렸다고 하네요.  GPT에 물어보니 자국산 발주분을 먼저 보내는 건 아니고, 지금 폴란드가 주문하면 2033년 이후에나 받을 수 있는데 원래 스페인군 몫이었던 생산라인을 폴란드군용으로 돌린 것 같다고 합니다. SAFE 대출 사용기한이 2030년까지라서 저랬나 보네요. 

폴란드, 스페인과 협력해 공중급유기 도입 규모 두 배로 확대

Jaroslaw Adamowski

2026년 7월 4일

벨기에와 네덜란드 국경 인근 헥텔에서 열린 제45회 국제 사니콜레 에어쇼에서 NATO의 A330 다목적 공중급유·수송기(MRTT) 팀이 비행을 선보이고 있다. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

폴란드 바르샤바 — 폴란드 정부가 공군용 다목적 공중급유·수송기(MRTT) 도입 계획을 추진하는 가운데, Airbus A330 MRTT를 구매하기 위해 스페인과 협력하기로 했다.

폴란드는 당초 유럽연합(EU) 대출을 활용해 항공기 2대를 도입할 계획이었지만, 마드리드와의 합의에 따라 도입 물량을 4대로 늘릴 수 있게 됐다.

폴란드 국방부 대변인은 Defense News에 폴란드와 스페인이 공동으로 사업을 추진하기 위한 양해각서(MOU)를 체결했다고 밝혔다. 이번 합의에 따라 스페인 정부는 자국에 배정된 인도 일정을 폴란드 국방부와 공유하게 된다.

이번 공동 조달을 통해 폴란드는 2030년까지 MRTT를 인도받을 예정이다. 양국의 합의는 2026년 6월 말 브와디스와프 코시니아크카미시 폴란드 부총리 겸 국방장관의 스페인 공식 방문 기간 중 체결됐다. 방문 기간 동안 코시니아크카미시 장관은 스페인 국방장관 마르가리타 로블레스와 회담을 가졌다.

국방부 대변인은 "향후 2주 이내에 폴란드는 마드리드와 공중급유·수송기 구매 계약의 세부 사항을 확정할 예정이다. 폴란드는 A330 MRTT 4대를 주문하게 된다"며 "현재 협상의 마지막 단계에 있다"고 말했다.

EU의 SAFE(Security Action for Europe) 제도에 따라 폴란드 국방예산은 약 437억 유로(499억 달러)의 저리 대출을 지원받게 된다. 이 제도는 러시아의 우크라이나 침공이 지속되는 가운데 회원국들의 국방력 강화를 지원하기 위해 마련됐으며, 폴란드는 가장 많은 자금을 배정받을 예정이다. 해당 대출은 2030년 말까지 집행되어야 한다.

국방부 대변인은 "유럽 기업 Airbus에 대한 이번 주문은 SAFE 메커니즘을 통해 자금이 조달될 것"이라고 밝혔다.

폴란드 국방부는 이번 구매 규모의 금액은 공개하지 않았다. 2026년 5월 이탈리아는 약 14억 유로(16억 달러) 규모의 계약으로 A330 MRTT 6대를 도입할 계획을 발표한 바 있다.

전투기 경쟁

이번 결정으로 폴란드는 경쟁 기종으로 검토됐던 Boeing KC-46 대신 Airbus 기체를 선택한 것이 확인됐다.

한편 미국과 유럽 업체들은 또 다른 대형 항공기 사업을 두고 경쟁을 이어가고 있다. 폴란드 정부는 최대 32대의 신규 전투기 도입을 검토 중이며, 후보에는 Lockheed Martin의 F-35, Boeing의 F-15EX, 그리고 Airbus·BAE Systems·Leonardo 컨소시엄이 생산하는 Eurofighter Typhoon이 포함돼 있다.

지난해 6월 주문한 F-35 32대 가운데 첫 기체의 인도가 시작된 이후 Lockheed Martin은 폴란드 정부에 5세대 전투기 전력을 더욱 확대할 것을 권고하고 있다. 동시에 경쟁 기종인 두 제공전투기 제조사들은 최근 토마시 야트차크 폴란드 공군 감찰관(준장)의 발언에 주목하고 있다.

6월 19일 야트차크 준장과 Boeing의 제공전력 사업개발·전략 총괄 임원인 케빈 페슬러는 바르샤바 국방박람회에서 열린 토론회에 참석했다. 이 자리에서 야트차크 준장은 자신이 "제공권 확보의 지지자"라며, 이러한 능력을 확보하는 것이 러시아에 대한 "핵심적인 억제 요소"가 될 수 있다고 말했다.

한편 Eurofighter 컨소시엄은 폴란드 사용자단체인 Business Centre Club이 해당 기종을 공개 지지하면서 힘을 얻고 있다. 이 단체는 6월 23일 폴란드 대통령, 총리, 국방장관 등을 대상으로 공개서한을 보내 Typhoon을 선정할 것을 촉구했다.

Business Centre Club은 공개서한에서 "F-35의 스텔스 능력과 Eurofighter 같은 제공전투기의 뛰어난 운동성과 많은 미사일 탑재량을 결합한 혼합 전력은 동일 기종 64대를 운용하는 것보다 더욱 합리적인 운용, 전투 자산 소진에 대한 높은 대응력, 그리고 더 큰 작전 유연성을 제공한다"고 주장했다.

공개서한은 또한 폴란드 방위산업과 항공우주산업이 유럽 전투기의 공급망에 참여할 경우 상당한 이익을 얻을 수 있다고 강조했다.

이 단체는 "추가 F-35 계약에서는 폴란드 산업이 여전히 고객에 머무를 뿐이며 파트너가 아니다. 반면 Eurofighter 컨소시엄은 폴란드가 사업에 참여할 경우 투자 금액의 약 40%가 완성기를 구매하는 데 그치는 것이 아니라 공급망을 통해 폴란드에 남게 될 것이라고 이미 밝혔다"고 설명했다.

한편 폴란드 정부는 이탈리아, 일본, 영국이 공동으로 추진하는 6세대 전투기 개발 사업인 GCAP(Global Combat Air Programme) 참여도 검토하고 있다.

폴란드 공군 예비역 소장인 브워지미에시 우사레크는 Defense News와의 인터뷰에서, 폴란드가 유럽 파트너들과 함께 Eurofighter 공급망에 참여할 경우 자국 방산업계는 현재로서는 접근할 수 없는 기술과 생산 역량을 확보할 수 있을 것이라고 말했다.

우사레크는 "Eurofighter를 구매하면 폴란드는 다른 국가들의 고객으로 남는 대신, 6세대 전투기를 공동 개발하고 공동 생산하는 데 있어 우선적인 위치를 확보하게 될 것"이라며 "F-35를 통해 적 영공을 다른 항공기에 개방하는 데 필요한 스텔스 능력을 확보하고, Eurofighter와 같은 제공전투기를 통해서는 폴란드 조종사들이 그러한 기체만이 접근할 수 있는 고도에서 적과 교전할 수 있게 될 것"이라고 말했다.

Poland teams up with Spain to double tanker aircraft purchase

Poland teams up with Spain to double tanker aircraft purchase

Poland teams up with Spain to double tanker aircraft purchase

By Jaroslaw Adamowski

 Jul 4, 2026, 12:09 AM

NATO's A330 Airbus Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) team performs during the 45th International Sanicole Airshow organized by Aeroclub Sanicole in Hechtel, Belgium, near the Dutch border, on Sept. 14, 2025. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

WARSAW, Poland — As the Polish government is advancing plans to purchase multi-role tanker transport aircraft for the country’s Air Force, aiming to buy Airbus A330 MRTT planes, the nation has teamed up with Spain to implement the acquisition.

Poland initially planned to procure two aircraft using loans from the European Union, but the agreement with Madrid will allow Warsaw to increase its tanker order to four units.

A spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that Poland and Spain have signed a memorandum that obliges the two countries to carry out the acquisition together. The deal enables the Spanish government to share its delivery slots with the Polish ministry.

By joining forces with Madrid for the procurement, Warsaw will receive the MRTTs by 2030. The agreement was signed in late June 2026 during an official visit to Spain by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister. During the visit, Kosiniak-Kamysz met with his Spanish counterpart, Margarita Robles.

The Polish minister has announced “that, within two weeks’ time, Poland will arrange with Madrid the details of the contract to buy tanker and transport aircraft. Poland will order four A330 MRTT tankers,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently at the final stage of talks.”

Under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, the Polish defense budget is to absorb funds of around €43.7 billion ($49.9 billion) in low-cost loans. The program is designed to allow member states to bolster their defense capabilities amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and Poland is to receive the largest share of the funds. The program stipulates that the loans must be disbursed by the end of 2030.

“The order from European group Airbus will be financed through the SAFE mechanism,” according to the defense spokesperson.

The value of the planned purchase was not disclosed by the Polish ministry. In May 2026, Italy unveiled plans to acquire six A330 MRTTs in a deal worth some €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion).

Fighter jet race

The latest development confirm‎s that Poland has chosen the Airbus aircraft over the only competitor that had also been considered, Boeing’s KC-46.

Meanwhile, U.S. and European manufacturers continue to compete for another major aircraft order in the pipeline. Poland’s government is mulling plans to buy up to 32 new fighter jets, with some of the eval‎uated options including: Lockheed Martin’s F-35; Boeing’s F-15EX; and the Eurofighter Typhoon, a jet manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

With deliveries of the first of the country’s 32 ordered F-35s initiated last June, Lockheed Martin is encouraging officials in Warsaw to double down on the Polish military’s commitment to fifth-generation jets. At the same time, the manufacturers of the two air superiority aircraft that are also in the race are looking favorably at recent statements by Brig. Gen. Tomasz Jatczak, the inspector of the Polish Air Force.

On June 19, Jatczak and Kevin Fesler, Boeing’s executive director overseeing business development and strategy for air dominance, participated in a panel discussion during the annual Warsaw Defense Fair event. The general stated he is “an advocate for air superiority” as securing this capability could provide Poland with “a key element of deterrence” against Russia.

Meanwhile, in its campaign for the potential Polish deal, the consortium behind the Eurofighter is benefiting from the recent move by Business Centre Club, a Polish employers’ organization, which backed the jet in the race. On June 23, the group issued an open letter to a group of decision-makers including Poland’s president, prime minister and national defense minister, calling on them to select the Typhoon.

“A mixed fleet, combining the stealth capabilities of the F-35 with the kinematics and missile count of an air superiority aircraft such as the Eurofighter offers greater freedom of rational use, resistance to the exhaustion of combat assets, and greater operational flexibility than 64 aircraft of the same type,” the Business Centre Club said in its missive.

The open letter also argues that Poland’s defense and aerospace industries could gain considerable benefits from involvement in the European jet’s supply chain.

“Another F-35 contract is one in which the Polish industry remains a customer, not a partner. The Eurofighter consortium … has already declared that Poland’s participation in the program would mean that approximately 40 percent of the investment value would remain in Poland through the supply chain, not just the purchase of a finished aircraft,” according to the organization.

Meanwhile, the Polish authorities are also considering joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a tri-nation initiative spearheaded by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet.

Włodzimierz Usarek, a retired major general of the Polish Air Force, told Defense News that by joining the Eurofighter’s supply chain alongside European partners, Poland’s defense industry could gain access to technologies and capacities that would otherwise not be available to local companies.

“Buying the Eurofighter will put Poland in a preferential position to develop the sixth-generation fighter and jointly produce it with other countries instead of continuing to be other countries’ client,” Usarek said. “With the F-35, we will have the stealth capacity that is necessary to open up the enemy airspace to other aircraft. With air superiority fighters such as the Eurofighter, Polish pilots will be able to fight the adversary at an altitude that only such aircraft can access.”

About Jaroslaw Adamowski

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.