Airbus SE EADSY said its Defence and Space division has signed two contracts valued at €1.2 billion in total with France’s Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) and Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé) for the capability enhancement.
The contract will also aid in-service support of the French A330 MRTTs (Multi Role Tanker Transport) fleet.
The capability extension of the French MRTTs will be focussed on connectivity as a key pillar and also self-protection capabilities.
The aircraft will be equipped with the MELISSA satcom station in order to stay connected in all situations, including jammed environments and extreme weather conditions.
The new capabilities, thus, will change the French A330 MRTT into a high bandwidth communication relay node, with command and control capabilities.
"With this new capability of the aircraft, we are preparing the future by transforming the MRTT into an in-flight communications node, as the first building block of the Multi Role Tanker Transport of tomorrow, embedded in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)," said Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space, Jean-Brice Dumont.
The first aircraft to have the improved capabilities will be A330 MRTT No. 15, which is expected to be qualified for the French Air Force in 2028.
The in-service support will be given to the 'Phénix' fleet for 10 years, plus two optional years, at the Istres Air Base, southern France, home to the 31st Strategic Air Refuelling and Transport Wing.
With 79 orders from 15 countries, the A330 MRTT has a 90% market share outside the U.S.
Price Action: EADSY shares closed lower by 1.75% at $31.95 on Friday.
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