Defence - Darren Olivier

Defence

Darren

Olivier

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.

THE 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 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

hand-made for each individual aircraft, Airbus and third party outfitters like Lufthansa Technik have developed new modular VIP interiors that are not only substantially cheaper than traditional VIP cabins but could be palletised and moved between aircraft as needed. Australia and the UK opted for non-modular interiors, rather dedicating a single aircraft in their fleet to the VIP role, but that’s not a nonnegotiable requirement.

Third, the space required for secure head of state-level communications systems has decreased massively in the past two decades, allowing virtually any mid to large size aircraft to carry a full secure communications suite with no serious weight or range penalty. This has made it feasible to equip all aircraft in a multi role tanker transport fleet with the same highend secure communications equipment, meaning there’s no further modification required beyond installing the modular VIP kit.

Moreover, this same trend toward modular roll-on/roll-off kits and the miniaturisation of electronics means that

VIP interior of RAF Voyager 'Vespina'.

an aircraft like the MRTT can perform even more roles including some truly spectacular MEDEVAC options. The French Air Force, for instance, have equipped their A330 MRTT ‘Phénix’ aircraft with the Morphée (Module de Réanimation pour Patient à Haute Élongation d’Évacuation) system, comprising up to 10 modules each capable of providing a sterile intensive care unit for

a severely wounded or ill patient. The range with a full set of Morphée modules remains an astounding 12 000 km.

France’s A330 MRTTs can also be kitted out with a ‘CM30’ configuration, with 40 stations for light to moderate wounded patients, seating for 88 passengers and space for cargo. Or a combination of Morphée modules, regular medical stations and passengers as needed.

Lufthansa Technik offers its own hightech MEDEVAC modular option for the MRTT for those countries who don’t want to develop their own, as France did.

Needless to say, having this level of MEDEVAC support can make the difference between life and death for both soldiers wounded on the battlefield and civilians harmed or injured by natural disasters or disease outbreaks. That it can be done with an aircraft that the next day could be configured to carry lifesaving cargo or evacuate passengers, is even better.

Another option that France has gone with is to use modular kits to create an airborne command centre, able to both direct battles and act as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) communication relays.

Finally, because A330 MRTTs retain their regular cabin and most cargo space, they can be chartered out as regular airliners, which is the approach taken by the Royal Air Force with the AirTanker consortium contract. Under that, AirTanker has to provide a minimum number of

aircraft and crews for the RAF depending on pre-agreed requirements, but can charter out for regular passenger travel any A330 MRTTs not immediately needed. This reduces operating costs quite substantially compared to having a dedicated fleet, and should be considered as a potential option for any African air forces looking to go down this road.

Given all of this, what’s the downside of adopting a multi role tanker transport, like the A330 MRTT, with a modular VIP interior? Surely it’s an idea that sells itself? Sadly, no. There are inherent compromises in the approach that must be understood and accepted by everyone involved.

For one, this only works if the VIPs who’ll fly on the aircraft agree to certain restrictions on the way they use it. That includes providing proper scheduling months in advance of when they’ll need it, to allow air force planners to efficiently schedule maintenance slots while leaving enough spare capacity for aerial refuelling and possibly regular transport duties. It also means opting to limit their number

of flights on the aircraft beyond those which are absolutely necessary, such as intercontinental trips, and not requiring the aircraft to be on standby for ad hoc VIP trips.

There’s also a need to understand that opting for an MRTT-style approach may be more expensive than having a pure VIP transport, which may make it unaffordable even though it brings substantial additional

The VIP Voyager demonstrating its retained aerial refuelling capability.

capabilities in air refuelling, transport and MEDEVAC roles. It’s still cheaper to buy a VIP-configured BBJ or ACJ. In addition, unlike a VIP aircraft, it would not make any sense to acquire only a single MRTT as that is too small for a minimum fleet size especially as the VIPconfigured aircraft will have lower availability than the standard fleet. Realistically at least three aircraft are needed, which does not come cheap.

Most importantly though, it requires a public and political mindset that understands that VIP transport should always be a secondary capability of any air force, subservient to their primary task of protecting the nation. Until that’s in place, no balance will be possible. 