French Air Force will sign a contract for new Multi-Role Tanker Transports aircraft A330 in 2013 2111111

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World Air Force News - France
 
 
French Air Force will sign a contract for new Multi-Role Tanker Transports aircraft A330 in 2013.
 
The French Air Force will sign a contract for between five and seven Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports in 2013, with quick deliveries foreseen, according to its commander General Jean-Paul Palomeros. Budget difficulties thwarted earlier French attempts to procure a new tanker. (Source AINonline)
     
The French Air Force will sign a contract for between five and seven A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports in 2013, with quick deliveries foreseen, according to its commander General Jean-Paul Palomeros. Budget difficulties thwarted earlier French attempts to procure a new tanker. (Source AINonline)
Airbus A-330 Multi-Role tanker transports aicraft
     
But Palomeros told AIN that NATO air operations over Libya had underscored the need for Europe to boost its air-refueling capacity. The French Air Force currently flies 14 aging KC-135 tankers. The new French A330s would be pooled with the UK, and there would be discussions with the RAF over the addition of command-and-control capabilities to the joint fleet. France would eventually acquire 14 A330MRTTs, Palomeros added, with a second batch serving to replace the service’s A340 and A310 VIP and transport fleet.

Palomeros also confirmed that the French Air Force would not introduce the Anglo-French Telemos UAV until at least 2020. It is a proposed development of the BAE Systems Mantis medium-range long-endurance UAV, which has already flown. France recently decided to adapt the IAI Heron TP to meet near-term requirements.

“We need to define the operational requirements and develop a clear road map. The Mantis is a good platform, but we have real work to do regarding systems and communications,” Palomeros told AIN. During the Air Chiefs Conference at the recent Dubai Air Show, he identified key concerns about current UAV operations, including interoperability, multitasking and multisensor exploitation.