Poland to get four A330 MRTT tankers by 2030 under Spain deal
Spain’s government has approved spending of up to €5.4 billion ($6.3 billion) to jointly purchase Airbus A330 MRTT tanker and transport aircraft with Poland, clearing the way for a final contract between the two countries.
Madrid’s Council of Ministers signed off on the framework agreement during a meeting on Aug. 25. The deal covers seven new A330 MRTT aircraft: three for Spain and four for Poland. The agreement runs through the SAFE mechanism, and the aircraft will be assembled in Getafe, Madrid.
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, announced the Spanish approval on social media Wednesday. He said the next step is signing the final contract and that Poland expects to receive four aircraft by 2030.
The framework agreement will last seven years from the date of formalization, according to the readout from the Spanish Council of Ministers. The number of aircraft covered by the Spanish spending approval was not specified in that readout, though Spanish media reported the total split as three units for Spain and four for Poland.
The purchase runs through the European Union’s Security Action for Europe program, known as SAFE, which provides low-cost loans to member states for defense procurement. Poland’s defense budget is set to draw around €43.7 billion ($49.9 billion) in SAFE loans, the largest allocation among EU member states, with funds required to be disbursed by the end of 2030.
Poland has been negotiating the acquisition with Spain since the spring. Kosiniak-Kamysz said the two countries signed a memorandum on May 29 committing to move forward with the purchase together. He and Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles discussed the program during an official visit to Madrid on June 22 and 23, when the Polish delegation toured the Airbus conversion line in Getafe.
Poland initially examined buying two A330 MRTTs on its own. The arrangement with Spain allows Warsaw to increase its order to four aircraft by sharing Madrid’s production and delivery slots.
The A330 MRTT is a militarized version of the Airbus A330 airliner, fitted for aerial refueling and for carrying cargo, passengers or wounded personnel. Poland’s aircraft are expected to be based on the newer A330neo airframe.
Kosiniak-Kamysz has tied the acquisition directly to Poland’s F-35 fleet. He said tanker aircraft would let Poland’s F-35s “operate further, longer, and with greater effectiveness.”
Poland currently has no dedicated aerial refueling aircraft. The Polish Air Force’s only heavy transport aircraft are six C-130 Hercules, and Warsaw has depended on allied tankers to extend the range of its fighter fleet.
Poland was a founding member of NATO’s Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet, a pooled fleet of A330 MRTTs. Warsaw withdrew from that program at the turn of 2015 and 2016, leaving it without access to shared tanker capacity since. The NATO fleet has since grown to 12 aircraft operated by member states including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, with Finland expected to join.
The Spanish Air Force flies three modified former Iberia A330-200s, currently equipped only with a hose and drogue refueling system, though they can be fitted with a boom later if required.
Poland’s tanker effort has been pursued for years under a national requirement known as the Karkonosze program. That program dates to around 2008, was postponed around 2010, and has since gone through repeated attempts at a multinational solution. Early requirements under Karkonosze called for both boom and hose-and-drogue refueling and the ability to carry cargo, passengers and wounded personnel, criteria the A330 MRTT meets.
Source: Defence Blog
