Airbus Defence and Space will provide South Korea with four A330 MRTT multirole tanker aircraft

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World Defense & Security Industry News - Airbus Defense and Space
 
 
 
Airbus Defence and Space will provide South Korea with four A330 MRTT multirole tanker aircraft
 
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, Airbus today beat Boeing in the competition to supply South Korea with four aerial refueling tanker. Total amount for the project has been estimated to $1.3 bn. The first two tanker will be delivered by 2018 and another two the next year. The two other competitors were Boeing with its KC-46 Pegasus, currently in development, and Israel Aerospace Industries with the B767 MMTT.
     
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, Airbus today beated Boeing in the competition to supply South-Korea with four aerial refueling tanker. Total amount for the project has been estimated to $1.3 bn. The first two tanker will be delivered by 2018 and another two the next year. The two other competitors were Boeing with its KC-46 Pegasus, currently in development, and Israel Aerospace Industries with the B767 MMTT. Royal Australian Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft
     
Under the deal, Airbus will supply four in-flight refueling aircraft to the South Korean military by 2019, Kim Si-cheol, spokesman of the Defense Acquisition Procurement Agency said, announcing the result of its two-month bidding process.

Airbus’ A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft) boasts the ability to conduct a variety of missions including air-to-air refueling, the transport of passengers and military personnel and aerial medical evacuations. It can also carry larger amounts of fuel than its rivals.


The A330 MRTT is also an already developed tanker while the development of Boeing’s KC-46 is to be completed in 2017. Up to now, Britain, Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and France have decided to purchase Airbus’ model.

The ROK military has been eyeing a purchase of refueling aircraft since the mid-1990s, as its fighters can operate over vulnerable areas such as South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo for only half an hour. With refueling, combat aircraft could operate for another hour, defense officials said yesterday.