Kc-30bs, Possible c/ns of 4

Excellent Mick.
Thank you, saved me the drive.
I assume furious work on going on with the boom inside the hangar.

TANKER Tanker tankers:

An Update on the Airbus Tanker: The Aussie Experience
2015-09-20 By Robbin Laird

http://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-ai...sie-experience/

This post has been edited by Luig on Sep 20 2015, 11:55 PM

004 was moved out of the NG hangar early AM Monday 26th. Only a glimpse as I taxied out. I believe the boom was fitted.

Well spotted Master-Tracker.

Slowly coming back together.



Attached Image

RAAF A330 MRTT Boom 1st KC-30A Wedgetail E-7A Refuel Iraq

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4_KkOY685k

FROM: http://www.sldinfo.com/the-kc-30a-and-wedg...es-a-way-ahead/
&
https://vimeo.com/144207242

This post has been edited by Luig on Nov 2 2015, 09:19 AM

Attached Image

Another screenshot from video above.

Attached Image

US seeks additional combat aerial refuelling capacity from Airbus
01 Nov 2015 Gareth Jennings

"The US military is working with Airbus Defence and Space (DS) to gain emergency aerial refuelling clearances for its fleet of combat aircraft operating in the Middle East, a company spokesperson said on 2 November.

Speaking in Seville at the annual Trade Media Briefing (TMB), the head of the A330 MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) programme, Antonio Caramazana, said that both the US Air Force (USAF) and US Navy (USN) have had discussions for gaining emergency refuelling clearances, and that a plan is now in place for rolling this capability out over the coming months.

"The [USAF] and [USN] were in Madrid in September to discuss their plans for gaining full clearance of all their receiver aircraft that are now performing real-mission operations in the Middle East," he said.

With regard to the USAF, a KC-30A MRTT of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has already undertaken in-flight refuelling trials with a Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. There are plans for trials of the USAF's current combat fleet of Boeing F-15C/D Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle; Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon; Rockwell B-1B Lancer; and Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II platforms also. All of these receiver aircraft utilise the boom-and-receptacle method of aerial refuelling.

Further to the USAF's trials at Edwards AFB, the USN is planning its own to take place at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Maryland. These will see hose-and-drogue tests with the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II; the USN's Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and EA-18G Growler; and the USMC's Grumman EA-6B Prowler.

The USN is also planning to utilise a Voyager aircraft of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) to gain hose-and-drogue clearance for the F-35B to be fielded by the USMC."

http://www.janes.com/article/55676/us-seek...ity-from-airbus

PICTURES: Australia completes KC-30A tanker trials with F-35A
07 Nov 2015 Greg Waldron

PICTURES: http://images.defence.gov.au/fotoweb/grid....earch=S20153147

"The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed refuelling trials involving one of its Airbus Defence & Space A330 multi-role tanker transports and the Lockheed Martin F-35A.

The work saw the tanker, designated the KC-30A in Australian service, conduct 479 “dry” and 24 “wet” contacts using its advanced refuelling boom system (ARBS). The latter saw a total of 95t of fuel transferred.

During the trials the A330 was flown from Edwards AFB in California. It has since returned to Australia. The trials will allow Australia's and foreign F-35As be refuelled from the KC-30A....

...Meanwhile, Airbus says that additional testing also involving A330 tankers from the United Arab Emirates and the UK over the next 12 months will involve refuelling Boeing B-1B, F-15, F/A-18, Fairchild Republic A-10, Lockheed F-16 and F-35A and B-model aircraft and McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier IIs, with work to be performed from Edwards AFB and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...-trials-418738/

BOOM or bust? I just had to say that...

DUBAI: Combat-tested A330 MRTT to get technology boost
07 Nov 2015 Craig Hoyle

"...Airbus is looking to enhance its offering with new technologies.

A new build standard will be delivered from 2018, heralding aerodynamic improvements and new mission computers. Airbus also is investigating the potential for operators to take advantage of the A330’s increased maximum take-off weight of 242t, says head of military derivatives programmes Antonio Caramazana.

Various post-production configuration modifications have already been integrated for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK, and the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet will complete a boom upgrade before year-end.

Airbus also is conducting laboratory-based modeling work to assess the feasibility of using an automated system during boom refuelling. Likened to the use of assisted parking in cars, this relies on the boom moving itself to align and maintain contact with a receiver aircraft’s fuel receptacle. The next step will be to install the required software in the company’s A310 tanker demonstrator, with the ultimate goal of performing tests next year with a Portuguese air force F-16.

“We’ve got good technology,” says a bullish Caramazana. “And the best tanker.”

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...ogy-boo-418758/

BOOM on AUTO.

Dubai 2015: Auto refuelling for MRTTs 09 Nov 2015 Grant Turnbull

"A human boom operator on the A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) could soon be a thing of the past as Airbus Defence and Space (DS) study ways to automate passing fuel to receiver aircraft.

Feasibility studies of aerial refuelling using an automatic boom are currently taking place, said Miguel Angel Morell, Airbus DS’s head of engineering.

‘This is like automatic parking in cars,’ he explained.

The next step will be to begin flight trials with an Airbus A310 tanker demonstrator aircraft, which is equipped with the manufacturer’s advanced refuelling boom system (ARBS).

‘Now we are in the process of installing this on the A310,’ said Morell. ‘We will do it first with simulated receiver [aircraft], and in the second phase we will fly with an F-16.’

Trials of the system, which comprises a sensor-equipped ARBS and advanced control software, are set to be complete by next year.

The MRTT’s current boom system is remotely controlled from a console in the cockpit, with an operator conducting air-to-air refuelling via a high-definition video monitoring system.

Morell said that instead of manoeuvring the boom into a receiver aircraft’s receptacle, a boom operator’s workload would be simplified. ‘The only thing the operator would have to do is manage the extension and retraction of the boom.’

‘With this we reduce the workload and improve efficiency in the system,’ he said.

In cases of severe turbulence, a boom operator could take manual control of the system but Morell explained that in such a scenario a computer’s reaction times would be quicker than a human operator....

...Airbus DS officials recently revealed that the US Air Force and US Navy had ‘ambitious’ plans to fully qualify all its aircraft to use the MRTT next year.

‘They are operating in the Middle East with limited clearances and what the air force and navy wants to do is get a full clearance on all their receivers,’ Antonio Caramazana, head of Airbus military derivatives programmes, told reporters in October.

The first phase will utilise a Royal Australian Air Force MRTT, while the second phase will use a UAE MRTT. An RAF Voyager aircraft is also scheduled to conduct hose-and-drogue trials with the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.

A boom-equipped RAAF KC-30A (MRTT-1) has already deployed to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) this year to conduct clearance flights with the F-35A."

http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/mil-log/...g-future-mrtts/

PHOTO: http://www.shephardmedia.com/media/images/...le/15363a43.jpg

This post has been edited by Luig on Nov 10 2015, 01:52 PM

Attached Image

A bigger version of photo above.

Attached Image

NObody told me... http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123464980

Australian Aerial refueler connects USAF and RAAF test teams 09 Dec 2015

"...From 2011 to 2014, they also completed hose and drogue testing that allowed the KC-30 to refuel Royal Australian Navy F-18s...."

For over 50 years the boom operator has successfully refuelled the receiver aircraft by looking out of a window.
Now he looks at a video screen while wearing 3D glasses.
What could possibly go wrong?

Soon the aircrew will be looking through/at synthetic computer generated views whilst flying. Sometimes grids will be superimposed over the real scene sometimes the scene will be entirely computer generated. Instrument landings in zero/zero weather will be a breeze.

Nothing!

As you well know, all technology works flawlessly, 100 per cent of the time.

And never forget that Yanks think that nothing can't be improved by spending bazillions on something that's not actually needed and making it ridiculously complex, just because: during the 60s they spent 3-plus million dollars (that's 1960's dollars) developing a biro that worked in zero G.

The Russians?

Went to the cupboard and grabbed a box of pencils.

SINGAPORE: RAAF A330 MRTT refuels USAF C-17 15 Feb 2016 Greg Waldron

"A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus Defence & Space A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) has successfully refuelled a Boeing C-17A for the first time.

The milestone took place on 10 February, with the RAAF tanker delivering 6,800kg (15,000lb) of fuel to the USAF C-17A over Edwards Air Force Base in California, says Australia’s Department of Defence.

The 5h sortie saw 39 contacts made between the two jets using the A330 MRTT’s boom, which is designated KC-30A in Australian service.

The RAAF says air-to-air refuelling increases the C-17A’s range, allowing it to fly heavier payloads over longer distances. The US trial sets the stage for air-to-air refuelling between the tanker and Canberra’s own fleet of C-17As.

Australian C-17A pilots have already conducted refuelling trials with Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135Rs in late 2015. Singapore plans to replace these aircraft with six A330 MRTTs.

The RAAF operates five KC-30As, with two more joining in 2017. It also has eight C-17As."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...af-c-17-421902/

https://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getasse...px?itemid=65829 (ComOzPhoto)

Attached Image

http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/...SAF0000_003.jpg

MORE PICS HERE: http://alert5.com/2016/02/15/first-time-ra...-17/#more-49232

This post has been edited by Luig on Feb 15 2016, 02:30 PM

Attached Image

Airbus to enhance A330 tanker offering 22 Jun 2016 Craig Hoyle

"...Additionally, current users will be able to clear their aircraft to operate with an increased maximum take-off weight of 238t. If adopted, Amador says this will enable the MRTT to carry 20% more payload on a 6,000nm (11,100km) mission...."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...ffering-426581/

Part of MRTT upgrade PDF briefing attached. Story here:

The A330 MRTT: The Flagship of a 21st Century Approach for Airbus Defence and Space 26 Jun 2016 SLDinfo

http://www.sldinfo.com/the-a330-mrtt-the-f...ence-and-space/

"...Currently, there are 27 A330MRTT in services with more than 85,000 flight hours, which include 40,000 in the past year.

The Aussie experience was highlighted in which one RAAF tanker has been deployed to the Middle East since September 2014 with 631 sorties flown which is a monthly average of 30 plus and more than 5000 flight hours with a monthly average of 250...."

Full PDF (with bits about hose/drogue pilot interface view) here:

http://www.slideshare.net/robbinlaird/a330...efing-june-2016 (2.3Mb)

This post has been edited by Luig on Jun 27 2016, 04:26 AM

Attached File ( Number of downloads: 271 )
 a330mrtt_160625110238PRNscreenADF2pp5.pdf

Graphic from PDF above: http://www.slideshare.net/robbinlaird/a330...efing-june-2016

Attached Image

Airbus to test automatic boom mode for A330 MRTT 30 Jun 2016 Craig Hoyle

"With its advanced boom refuelling system for the A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) having achieved full operational capability, Airbus Defence & Space has turned its attention to trialling an automatic mode for the fly-by-wire controlled structure.

“We have finalised all of the activities in the simulator, and have already had some flight trials, without contact [with a Lockheed Martin F-16],” says head of engineering Miguel Angel Morrell. “The next step is to do the contact,” he adds. This activity – to be performed using the company’s A310 MRTT demonstrator – is expected to occur around the end of 2016. If these trials are successful, the company will advance to operating the system in fully automatic mode.

Operation of the boom is currently a manual task performed by a qualified “boomer”, but the technology being trialled involves the use of real-time video and image processing to track a receiver aircraft’s exact position.

Under the Airbus concept, the operator will control the boom manually – including commanding its extension – until it has been positioned within a required area, close to the receiver aircraft. At this point, its automatic mode would be engaged to complete the contact procedure.

“Once in contact it’s hands-free to operate, until manual disconnect,” Morrell says.

Airbus says use of such an automatic capability would result in “improvements in operational and safety aspects” of air-to-air refuelling, and also save time during the process.

Existing A330 MRTT operator the Royal Australian Air Force has already expressed interest in the enhancement, Morrell says, although the operator does not yet have a firm requirement to field such an advance.

Airbus notes that the automatic boom function requires no modification to receiver aircraft already cleared to receive fuel from the A330.

In addition to Australia, the air forces of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates currently operate boom-equipped MRTTs, with their combined fleets totalling 14 of the aircraft."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...30-mrtt-426852/

RAAF to equip one A330 MRTT as VIP transport 19 Oct 2016 Greg Waldron

"Australia has decided that one of its two incoming Airbus Defence and Space A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft will have an interior customised for transporting government officials.

The primary role of the aircraft will be as an air-to-air refuelling platform, but it will have features consistent with transporting high-level personnel on international flights, says Australia’s Department of Defence.

“The aircraft will provide the secure communications capability, range, passenger capacity to support long range travel required to enable international engagement with our partners in, for example, North America, Europe and north Asia,” says the Department.

“The modified aircraft will support long range government transport with accommodation, meeting facilities and communications to allow conduct of normal business in transit. The capability is scheduled to be delivered in 2019.”

An August 2016 contract with Airbus Defence and Space covers the necessary modifications.

The A330 MRTT is designated the KC-30A in Australian service, and the RAAF has five in-service examples powered by General Electric CF6 engines.

The aircraft's passenger cabins are similar to those found in Qantas’s commercial A330s, with both business and economy classes, but excluding inflight entertainment equipment.

Its two incoming tankers, which are being converted in Getafe, Spain, were formerly operated by the Oneworld carrier. Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that they are of 2007 and 2008 vintage, and were previously owned by CIT Aerospace.

As airliners, the two jets bore the registrations VH-EBH (MSN 892) and VH-EBI (898)."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/...ansport-430508/

Australian tankers to get automatic midair refueling capability 02 Mar 2017 Nigel Pittaway

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/financ...-kc-46-supplier

This post has been edited by Luig on Mar 3 2017, 10:33 AM

Airbus Achieves Automatic Air-to-Air Refuelling Contact 09 May2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPmdD3qeUsA

Attached Image

The manless flight future is here.

The F-16 was manned and so was the tanker with the boom operator monitoring the auto boom. One never knows.

Recall the X-47B robot unmanned aircraft refuelled in the air from a hose/drogue tanker and before that two UAVs hooked up hose/drogue in an unusual way but I don't think they 'passed gas'. My memory could be faulty on that though. BTW fuel went uphill from probe to receiver drogue - BOOYA.

"Global Hawk Aerial Refueling - Which Way? Posted by Graham Warwick 02 July 2010

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?... [too long]
OR
http://alturl.com/bvyx

This photo is not here anymore - too ancient: http://sitelife.aviationweek.com/ver1.0/Co...c8aa9a.Full.jpg

This post has been edited by Luig on May 12 2017, 06:43 PM

Attached Image

And I'm not forgetting that having the X-47B robot carry out precision carrier landings was a superb achievement - not followed up quickly by the now long delayed STINGRAY MQ-25 robotic refueller, still in the starting blocks. OH well - things move slowly for 'automatic for the people'.

A39-007/MRTT040 emerged from the paint shop at Manchester this morning, should route back to the factory at Getafe.
Andy

I wonder if they decide to buy some more down the track.

Skyliner reported that A39-007 departed LEGT (Getafe Air Force Base Spain) on 16 May and appears to be on its delivery flight through YTR (Trenton Canada) and HNL (Honolulu) so bpehaps its arrive at Amberley.

Yes 007 has arrived at YAMB