The new VIP paint scheme on ZZ336.
Defence D arren O livier
MULTI ROLE VIP TANKERS Late in June, an Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Voyager of the Royal Air Force (RAF) emerged from the paint shop wearing a bright new VIP paint scheme in place of its previous low-visibility grey tactical livery.
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HE aircraft, serialled ZZ336 and named ‘Vespina’, has been configured for VIP use since 2016 when 58 business class seats were fitted and it retains its aerial refuelling capability, though this is the first time that it has received a special paint scheme. This change, and the associated cost, were controversial in the UK to say the least. This column will not address that particular debate, but will instead look at the value of a multi role tanker transport and how this concept has made it possible to have a VIP transport aircraft capable of supporting other missions like aerial refuelling when not in use for its primary mission. That has not been seen as a viable option until now, and it should serve as an example for African countries looking
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FlightCom Magazine
over the long term to replace their VIP head of state transport aircraft while also adding new capabilities to their Air Force fleets. As an added bonus these aircraft come with remarkable medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) add-on kits. If we accept that VIP aircraft are a necessity for diplomacy, and that neither chartering nor airline travel is an option for some countries, then this provides a better way forward. Our focus will be on the Airbus A330 MRTT, but most of it if not all should apply equally to Boeing’s KC-767/KC-46. In today’s environment of everconstrained defence budgets facing off against increasing per-aircraft acquisition and operational cost, it’s no longer justifiable to acquire single use aircraft when the option exists to fulfil two or more roles with
a single platform. This has been accepted wisdom for the past three decades, and few new aircraft are now designed to a single specialist role. Yet for some reason this has escaped head of state VIP transports, which almost exclusively continue to be singlepurpose aircraft that have no secondary role, meaning that when not being used for VIP duties or related training, they stand idle. This is a waste of money. The United Kingdom and Australia were the first to realise the potential of their incoming A330 MRTTs as intercontinental VIP transports on top of their existing multi role capability. In essence this was enabled by three separate trends: First, like other large newergeneration aerial tankers, the A330 MRTT has enough capacity in its internal fuel tanks (111,000 kg) that there’s no need for extra fuel tanks in the cabin or cargo area, leaving those free for cargo, passengers or medical evacuation without any compromise to the aerial refuelling mission. Indeed, it’s possible for an A330 MRTT to carry a full load of 300 passengers and still perform aerial refuelling at the same time, though in that scenario its range would be reduced. Second, where VIP interiors have traditionally been custom, one-off designs
