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£13bn RAF tanker plane deal signed
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| An artist's impression of an Airbus A330 tanker plane |
A £13bn deal has been signed to replace the RAF's ageing refuelling and transport fleet of VC-10 and Tristar jets, based at RAF Brize Norton.
Under the private finance initiative contract, agreed today, the AirTanker consortium will provide specially-adapted Airbus A330-200 airliners, which will enter service at the west Oxfordshire air base from 2011.
The Ministry of Defence said the deal would see up to 600 jobs created by AirTanker and would safeguard up to 3,000 more jobs in the UK.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, the Chief of the Air Staff said: "This is a very welcome announcement. Air-to-air refuelling and strategic airlift are fundamental to the UK's expeditionary capability and the Future Tanker is a crucial element of that capability.
"The A330-200 is an extremely versatile aircraft, which is ideally suited to our requirements, and I look forward both to the aircraft's introduction in 2011, and the significant private investment in the infrastructure at RAF Brize Norton."
2:55pm Thursday 27th March 2008
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