Arequirement to replace the RAF's ageing fleet of VC-10 and TriStar tankers was identified during the early 1990s. A dwindling fleet comprising some 19 VC-10s (including 12 'tanker-only' aircraft, plus two further tankers 'in store') and nine TriStars (including three 'transport only' aircraft) would need replacing between 2008 and 2012. The tanker requirement originally came under the Defence Procurement Agency's Airlift and Future strategic Tanker aircraft (AFT) Integrated Project Team (IPT), but this was split into two separate programmes when the A400M was selected to meet the RAF's Future Transport Aircraft (FTA) requirement in July 2000. The resulting Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) requirement was drawn up to provide air-to-air refuelling (AAR) and some air transport (AT) capability for the Royal Air Force well into the 21st Century, though it was assumed that the FTA would have a secondary tanker role, especially for the support of the RAF's Falklands-based air defence fighters and for any out-of-area operations.
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