The MRTT A330 is the basis of the simulator and refuelling training station. (Photo: Airbus)
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) and Airbus Defence and Space signed a contract for a simulation and training package for the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF) at the Farnborough international Airshow 2024.
The 10-year framework contract includes the provision of a full-mission simulator, as well as maintenance, operation, and training services.
The full-mission simulator will include a flight simulator and an air-to-air refuelling operation station, based on the experience of A330 MRTT flight and refuelling operations.
The A330 MRTT is a military version of the familiar A330 airliner. Its principal role is in the refuelling of other aircraft and transporting personnel and equipment to wherever they are needed.
The simulator contract came about over two years. The MRTT Support Partnership (including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway) instructed the NSPA to deliver a business case analysis to underpin the acquisition of an Airbus full-mission simulator for MRTT in April 2022.
The signing at Farnborough set in stone an agreement reached with Airbus Defence and Space in October 2023.
The simulator will be housed in the Netherlands and will give MRTT SP nations a new degree of flexibility in scheduling both initial and recurring training on the A330 MRTT. The move is also intended to cut the costs of sending these primary simulator users to the dedicated Airbus Defence and Space simulator in Spain. That will have the additional benefit of saving MRTT flight hours which are dedicated specifically to keep flight crews current.
NSPA general manager Stacy A. Cummings said the simulator would “provide participating nations with efficient, effective and responsive solutions for acquisition and life cycle management of the MRTT aircraft and its supporting systems”.
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