A330 MRTT air refueling aircraft and A400M transport aircraft is a proposal of the European Airbus group for Polish military aviation, which is measured with the need to refuel fighters in the air and modernization of the transport fleet.
Among the many needs of new equipment for the Polish Army, an important place is occupied by the needs of the Air Force, for which in recent years, for example, 32 modern F-35 combat aircraft, 48 FA-50 school and combat aircraft or 2 reconnaissance aircraft (AEW & C) of the Swedish Saab have been purchased.
In addition to these purchases, military commanders emphasize the need to obtain air tankers, i.e. aircraft with large fuel tanks and apparatus that allows you to refuel other aircraft in the air. Air Force inspector, General Ireneusz Nowak, has repeatedly pointed to the media statements Acquiring tankers as one of the most urgent priorities for the Air Force.
He explained that air tankers are so -called Multiplicators of strength, i.e. resources that allow you to use combat aviation much more. Without the use of solutions such as refueling in the air, even the latest fighters are limited by the capacity of their fuel tanks, allowing you to remain in the air, e.g. for a maximum of 3 hours.
In this category of aircraft Two constructions currently dominate the global market – created on the basis of a civil aircraft Boeing 767 tanker KC-46used, among others by the USA or Japan, and built on the basis of an aircraft Airbus A330 A330 MRTT aircraft (Multi roles tanker transport). Airbus aircraft were purchased by most European countries – Spain, where they are created, as well as France and Great Britain.
Airbus aircraft were also purchased by an international coalition under NATO auspicesin which Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway and the Czech Republic have access to the shared fleet 9 (next under construction). The program, named MMF (Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport Fleet), was also to participate in Poland, but the decision to withdraw from it was made at the turn of 2015 and 2016 the then head of the Ministry of National Defense Antoni Macierewicz.
Currently, the Ministry of National Defense draws attention to the need to acquire tankers. This was emphasized in statements for the media, the deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense Paweł Bejda, at the same time indicating whether the solution would be to buy new machines, leasing, or, for example, involvement in the MMF program.
Airbus offers its machines
The European group Airbus signals readiness to deliver to the Polish Air Force. Airbus representatives in an interview with journalists among the advantages of their product emphasized, above all, its versatility and the possibility of use for purposes other than just refueling other aircraft.
It is about the fact that the aircraft is built on the basis of a large A330 passenger aircraft. After rebuilding it into an air tanker, such a plane does not lose its transport properties – inside the seats for passengers remain inside, the load is also available.
In such a configuration The aircraft can be used e.g. for transporting about 300 soldiers or evacuation of citizens from other countriesand – as Maria Angeles Marti, the head of the Tankowców program in Airbus, emphasized in an interview with journalists – she can also be configured at the client's request as a plane adapted for the transport of VIPs and as a “flying hospital” with several dozen positions, including intensive therapy.
She emphasized The equipment of the aircraft is modular, which allows easy and quick converting, e.g. a passenger transporter into a hospital or a plane for a plane transporting soldiers and goods. Fuel tanks – serving both the tanker and refueling others – have a maximum capacity of 111 tons of fuel; This is a bit more than Boeing KC-46 aircraft, taking less than 100 tons on board.
Such a supply allows, for example – as the manufacturer assures – for the supply of other aircraft with a total of 67 tons of fuel, assuming that the tanker operates at a distance of about 900 km from the base for 5 hours.
As for the basic abilities of the A330 MRTT, i.e. refueling in the flight of other aircraft, this tanker is equipped with a stiff fuel pipe – the so -called BOM – at the end of the fuselage (under the tail of the aircraft), as well as two capsules suspended under the wings with retractable flexible wires.
The stiff cable allows refueling of most American production aircraft, i.e. the main part of the Polish combat fleet-F-16 aircraft and in the future F-35, also provides faster refueling than flexible wings on the wings.
In turn, flexible wires have a lower capacity, but because of placing them on both wings, they allow you to refuel two aircraft at the same time. For refueling using a flexible cable, light FA -50 aircraft used by Polish aviation, this type of solution can also allow cooperation with allies – flexible cables are used by eurofightery used by many European countries or, for example, French rafale.
A330 MRTT aircraft have been operated by the air forces of different countries since 2014; In total, “on the meter” aircraft of this type already have over 300,000 flying hours.
The second key element of the Airbus offer for the Air Force is the A400M transport aircraftwhich would ultimately replace the aging American aircraft C-130 Hercules, in versions E and H; Currently, these are the largest transport aircraft in the Polish Army.
A400M – called Atlas – like Hercules is equipped with four turboprop engines; However, it is clearly larger than the Boeing aircraft. The A400M can take 37 tons of load on board, located in a 4×4 meters' hold. Depending on the loading mass, the aircraft also has a greater range than the American counterpart.
A400M aircraft are used, among others through the aviation of Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain or Turkey; In total, 178 aircraft have been ordered so far, and already produced have a total coating exceeding 200,000. hours in the air.
Potential competition for Airbus in the matter of transport aircraft is the American Lockheed Martin – producer of Hercules – and the Brazilian Embraer, producer of C -390 Millennium aircraft.
The C -390 is a relatively new construction – the aircraft of this type for the first time rose into the air in 2015. Until now, the Brazilian aircraft is already used by Brazilian and Portuguese Air Force, but they were also ordered by a number of customers from our part of Europe – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Unlike the A400M and Hercules, Embraery are equipped with two jet engines (turbo -ticking), but they have a smaller capacity than the Airbus structure, of a maximum of 26 tons, but larger than hercules, transferring a maximum of 20 tons.
Despite better performance, when it comes to load capacity and larger sizes than competitors' planes, Airbus aircraft are clearly more expensive than Lockheed or Embraer machines – they can cost up to about $ 200 million, while competition aircraft rather do not cost more than $ 150 million.
The fact that the Airbus A400M is a machine was admitted in an interview with journalists Gerd Weber, head of the transport program. On the other hand, he argued – due to his abilities, one Atlas can, however, perform work for two smaller aircraft, thus eliminating price differences.
The priority that new transporters should and should have an open issue for Poland. As Bartosz Głowacki, the editor -in -chief of “winged Poland”, noted in an interview with PAP, currently modern transporters are useful not only to the army, but to the whole country, which, for example, evacuate citizens from endangered regions, provide humanitarian aid or even install a “flying hospital”, allowing for safe transport of wounded and patients in a safe place.
On the other hand – as he noted – the key question is whether the Polish state and the army, burdened with dozens of other arms contracts, which are primarily to increase the combat capabilities of the army and deterrence of the state, can afford this type of additional investments.
Airbus is one of the largest producers in the aviation industry; Produces, among others Passenger aircraft, helicopters and military aircraft used by airlines and countries around the world are also active in the space industry. The largest shareholders are the governments of France, Germany and Spain, with 10, 83, 10.82 and just over 4 percent, respectively. action. The capitalization of the company is almost EUR 1.377 trillion.
In Poland, there are several plants belonging to Airbus, including primarily PZL Warsaw-Okęcie, where, among others The service of CASA C295 transporters used by the Polish Air Force, as well as structural elements, including electrical beams, Airbus civilians, as well as MRTT or A440M.
Mikołaj Małecki
mml/ par/ ktl/
