ENVASPOTTER mener:

Norge, Polen og Nederland ønsker sammen å kjøpe kombinerte tank- og passasjerfly et Airbus A330 MRTT til sine flyoperasjoner. Det vil være naturlig å tro at de får en teknisk base i et av de tre landene og en operasjonell base i hvert av landene.

Trondheim lufthavn Værnes ligger naturlig til for en slik base, da rullebane og luftrom inn og ut av Ørland Hovedflystasjon vil være i flittig bruk av jagerfly og vil gjøre det vanskelig å legge inn flyoperasjoner med et tankfly ut fra Ørland som base. Med tanke på at hovedflybasen for de nye F-35-flyene vil være på Ørlandet, vil en base for tankflyene i umiddelbar nærhet være bra og økonomisk, både på tanke på sparing av fuel, men også den sentrale plasseringen mellom nord og sør i Norge. En base på Oslo Lufthavn ville være feil da de aller fleste operasjonene til tank- og passasjerflyene vil være Air-to-Air refueling, altså i nærheten av Ørlandet og delvis den fremtidige QRA-basen på Harstad/Narvik lufthavn, Evenes

Derfor bør Trondheim Lufthavn Værnes/Værnes Airbase med sin unike beliggenhet og de store områdene inne på flyplassen, som muliggjør at det kan bygges hangarer til både flytekniske reparasjoner og for den daglige bruken.

European Defence Agency:

The Netherlands, Poland and Norway have decided to prepare negotiations with Airbus Defence & Space for the acquisition of a fleet of A330 MRTT multirole transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. The participating nations would welcome other nations to join the initiative either before an actual procurement or subsequently.

This initiative, facilitated by the European Defence Agency, consists of the pooled acquisition and operation of a common fleet of aircraft by the three nations. Other nations will also be able to contribute to the overall programme through joining the acquisition phase and/or in-service phase. An initial operating capability is expected for 2019.

After market research supported by a targeted request for information, the three nations have identified that only one military off-the-shelf solution met their key requirements in terms of capabilities and timeframe. The nations therefore agreed to create a NATO Support Agency (NSPA) partnership which tasked the Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’ARmement (OCCAR) to prepare negotiations with Airbus Defence and Space for a possible acquisition of a fleet of A330 MRTT. This engagement in further negotiations does not constitute a commitment by EDA, NSPA, OCCAR or the Participating nations to place an order either as a result of this dialogue or at a subsequent stage.

A single configuration has been selected for this common fleet of multirole tanker transport aircraft, which should all be equipped with a rigid boom as well as underwing pods, thus allowing to refuel a large variety of receivers. They will also meet the users’ requirements in terms of passenger transport, strategic airlift, and medical evacuation. By developing synergies with similar fleets, the nations will further contribute to a reduced fragmentation and increased interoperability of air-to-air refuelling aircraft in Europe.

Background
This decision is in accordance with the 22 March 2012 declaration of Defence Ministers to further develop European air-to-air refuelling capabilities, as well as with the letter of intent signed in November 2012 by ten nations. The December 2013 European Council also endorsed air-to-air refuelling as one of four key capability programmes to be developed by European Member States.

Kilde: European Defence Agency

Foto: Javier Gonzalez