Europe Expands Airtanking with Airbus A330 Selection

LONDON — Three European nations plan are to pool their resources and purchase Airbus A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft starting in 2019.

The Netherlands, Poland and Norway are preparing to open negotiations with Airbus for a fleet of new aircraft, the European Defence Agency (EDA) announced on Friday.

The deal would help close a gap in European tanking capability most recently illustrated by the 2011 NATO mission against the Libyan regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The selection of Airbus for negotiations follows a request for information this year from the European aerospace company and rival air tanker supplier Boeing, with the 767.

The three nations have agreed to create a NATO Support Agency partnership to run the program and has tasked OCCAR, the European collaborative defense equipment management organization, to open negotiations with Airbus.

A spokesman said they hope negotiations will be finalized with Airbus in 2016.

Industry executives said the three nations have given themselves a “very challenging” timeline to move from completion of negotiations to the start of operations, probably initially in the transport role.

The new European fleet will be equipped with a rigid boom as well as underwing refueling pods.

A minimum of four airframes are expected to be purchased, although the final number depends on the cost of the airframes and whether other European nations opt to join the program.

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