RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has opened an international tender to acquire two Airbus A330-200 aircraft in civil configuration, which it will subsequently deliver to Airbus Spain for conversion to the MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) version, i.e., strategic transport and in-flight refueling aircraft.
The specifications 67102.220004/2022-59 have the Brazilian Aeronautical Commission in Washington (CABW) as the responsible agency. The aircraft must be compatible with the conversion to the MRTT standard and have a maximum of eight years of use, i.e., manufactured after 2014.
The aircraft will be assigned to the 2nd Squadron of the 2nd Transport Group (2nd/2nd GT – Corsair Squadron), based at Galeão Air Base (Rio de Janeiro).
The new A-330s will replace the only Boeing C-767, registration FAB 2900, leased from May 2016 until July 2019, when it was returned to the lessee, leaving the 2nd/2nd GT without an aircraft to operate for the last two and a half years.
AIRBUS BEATS BOEING
The KC-X3 project, launched in early 2020 by the Readiness Command, identified the need for a strategic airlifter and in-flight refueling aircraft in the Brazilian Transport Aviation fleet.
The candidates to win the KC-X3 contract were the Airbus A330 MRTT and the Boeing KC-46A, which also has the KC-767 MMTT version, converted from a civil airframe.
On May 10, 2021, Brazil’s Official Federal Gazette (DOU) published Decisional Order number 12/GM-MD signed by the Minister of Defense, Walter Braga Netto, authorizing the FAB to acquire two used strategic transport and refueling aircraft on the international market without the need for commercial compensation.
CONVERSION TO MRTT IN SPAIN
The conversion to the MRTT version will be the subject of a new contract, where the aircraft will be sent to the Airbus plant in Getafe, Spain, and after 18 months will be configured to the MRTT standard with three REVO points using probe and drogue system, a method used by the FAB.
Two of these pods will be mounted on the wings, type Cobhan 905E (Underwing pod 905E), the same used by the KC-390 Millennium configured for REVO, plus a pod on the rear fuselage centerline, type FRU-805E (Fuselage Refuelling Unit 805E).