Airbus A310 MRTT test-bed retires
October 3, 2024
The A310 was conceived as a smaller, lower capacity, longer range derivative of the original A300. Of 255 Airbus A310s built, less than 20 remain active – mostly in Iran, where sanctions have made replacing them difficult. There are also a handful of freighters, VIP aircraft, military transports and three tankers, the latter with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
EADS Military Transport Aircraft (MTA), at that time, assumed responsibility for all Airbus military transport aircraft derivatives In 2000, and launched a study for a boom-equipped aerial refuelling tanker system in November 2001. Airbus introduced new technologies, such as electrical actuators, a hoist, flight controls, a high-resolution digital vision system and new capabilities, including a 1,200 US-gallons-per-minute fuel-flow rate, dual redundancy and envelope protection.
The boom was equipped with an all-electrical and full fly-by-wire flight control system and was remotely ‘steered’ from an Air Refuelling Console on the flight deck. The Air Refuelling Operator used an advanced technology 2D/3D high-definition/digital Enhanced Vision System.
A tanker variant without a boom, the A310 MRTT, was built for the Luftwaffe, and the first German A310 MRTT was rolled out at Dresden on 9 December 2003.
A full-scale Boom Test Rig was built at Getafe In 2004, in order to carry out development and qualification tests of the Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS) before installing it on a dedicated test aircraft – a converted ex-Air Comet A310-300, initially known as the ‘Boom Demonstrator’.
This made its maiden flight in its new configuration on 16 March, 2006, and the first phase of the ARBS flight-test programme was successfully completed on 30 March, 2006. The A310 Boom Demonstrator successfully deployed its boom for the first time on its 12th test flight on 30 January, 2007. The A310 Boom Demonstrator made its first dry contact with a Portuguese F-16 on 10 December, 2007, and a first wet contact followed in March 2008, with a night refuelling performed in July 2009. This confirmed the performance of the state-of-the-art, enhanced-vision system and demonstrated the type’s ability to refuel during adverse weather and at night.
Since then, the A310-300 MRTT (MSN489) has completed more than 60,000 flying hours in total, including 1,150 hours in 353 AAR flight tests, initially in support of the production A310 MRTT and A330 MRTT, and later becoming certified for automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R).
The aircraft subsequently played a key role during the autonomous air-to-air refuelling (A4R) flight-test campaign.
The aircraft will now be replaced by an A330-200, MSN 655, which will become a new MRTT Flying Test Bed supporting Airbus’ product evolution strategy.
