No Secondary Tanking Role for RAF A400Ms

摘要

None of the Airbus Military A400M Atlases for the RAF will be equipped as air-to-air refuelling tankers. The announcement was made by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, on March 14, who stated that the service's tanker requirements will be fully meet by the Airbus A330 Voyager fleet. The decision was made after a study into the military's future requirements for air-to-air refuelling. Three A400Ms will be delivered to RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, in September 2014 and will be joined by a further pair by the end of that year, eight in 2015, six in 2016 and two in both 2017 and 2018, with the last arriving in 2021. The transport is due to officially enter service with the RAF in March 2015.