Spain turns to Iberia for air force A330 tankers

Spain is to acquire three Airbus A330-200s from flag carrier Iberia for conversion into aerial refuelling tankers for its air force. Madrid in late June approved the acquisition of three tanker/transports, allocating E148m this year, as part of a broader agreement with the airframer, which also included helicopters and a commitment to the multi-national European Future Combat Air System. It had been assumed that the order would be for new-build A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft, which are assembled in Toulouse and then sent for conversion at Airbus Defence & Space’s facility in Getafe near Madrid. But Major General Javier Antonio Guerrero Mochon, head of programmes at the Spanish air force, indicated that the three aircraft will be second-hand assets. An initial example will arrive and be put into service this year without undergoing conversion, he says, and a second aircraft, also still in its passenger configuration, will follow “months later”.<br/>