The French Air and Space Force’s (FASF’s) 31 Escadre Aérienne de Ravitaillement et de Transport Stratégiques (EARTS; Strategic Air Refuelling and Transport Wing) at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (BA125) took delivery of its 12th A330-243MRTT Phénix tanker-transport from Airbus Defence & Space on September 20.
The delivery of this aircraft (069/F-UJCR) marked the conclusion of the first batch of French orders for the A330-243MRTT, which began with France’s Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) receiving its first aircraft from Airbus in October 2018. Airbus had previously handed over the FASF’s 11th Phénix during the Paris Air Show in June 2023.
France’s Phénix project is not just about airframes, and the FASF will receive a new flight simulator at Istres before the end of 2023. This will provide the FASF with “complete autonomy” in the delivery of pilot training. There will also be new infrastructure – including new maintenance hangars and an army hub project with a passenger terminal meeting international airport standards – which promises to triple passenger and freight capacity.
The FASF initially planned to order 14 A330-243MRTTs, but budget constraints forced a reduction to 12 aircraft, before this was later increased to 15. The three additional tanker-transports and their corresponding A330 airframes were ordered in August 2020 and have since been delivered pending conversion to the Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) configuration by Airbus at its facility in Getafe, Spain.
These three A330-243MRTTs will be delivered between 2025 and 2028, eventually boosting the fleet to 15 aircraft. The FASF will then have the largest A330-243MRTT fleet in Europe. One of these new aircraft was recently built for the FASF, while the other two are second-hand examples that were previously operated by Colombia’s flag-carrier airline, Avianca.
With 12 A330-243MRTTs now on strength, time is running out for the FASF’s remaining C-135FR Stratotankers – which are operated by Escadron de Ravitaillement en Vol 4/31 (ERV 4/31; Flight Refuelling Squadron 4/31) ‘Sologne’ – the last of which will be retired by the end of 2023. The squadron’s three KC-135RGs may remain operational a little longer. These were acquired second-hand from the USAF in 1997, but underwent modernisation in 2014, gaining new Global Air Traffic Management (GATM)-compliant avionics.
