A versatile aeromedical configuration, including the ability to carry up to 40 stretchers and three critical care patients is available, as is a modest VIP passenger fit. These are external links and will open in a new windowPreviously grey, the aircraft was repainted in the colours of the Union flag to "better represent" the UK abroad, Downing Street said.The work was carried out by the Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, who told the BBC the plane was much bigger than ones they would usually work on.The RAF Voyager, an Airbus A330 jet, was repurposed for use by the UK government in 2015, at a cost of £10m.It was first used to take former Prime Minister David Cameron and other ministers to the Nato summit in Poland in July 2016.At the time, the government defended the expenditure, saying it was cheaper than chartering flights and would save about £775,000 a year.
Another of the type operates the regular airbridge to and from the Falklands and Voyager is making a major contribution to Operation Shader, offloading fuel to RAF Tornados and Typhoons, and a variety of Coalition jets, including US Marine Corps Harriers and F/A-18 Hornets. As a tanker, capabilities include the ability to operate a ‘towline’, where the Voyager orbits around a prescribed area awaiting ‘receivers’, or in a ‘trail’, where it flies with a number of fast jets, refuelling them over long ranges while taking responsibility for the formation’s fuel and navigation.Alternatively, it can operate as a passenger aircraft in much the same way as a civilian airliner, but delivering personnel safely into theatre thanks to its defensive aids suite.
Voyager also offers considerable capacity for the movement of palletised and/or bulk freight in its lower fuselage hold. One aircraft is always available on the Falkland Islands, primarily in support of the Typhoon QRA jets, but also available to the Hercules. Fuel offloaded during AAR is taken from the aircraft’s standard wing and fuselage tanks, leaving the cabin free for up to 291 personnel and the hold available for freight. This includes a so-called ‘Core Fleet’ of eight military serialled and one civilian-registered aircraft, supplemented by a ‘Surge Fleet’ of five civilian-registered aircraft that AirTanker uses commercially to generate additional revenue. It was subsequently expected to offer the A310 MRTT against the UK’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) requirement, announced as a likely private finance initiative (PFI) programme in 2000. RAF Voyager before its rebranding
Airbus Industrie launched its combined A340/A330 programme on June 5, 1987. The RAF Voyager “Vespina” has completed its refurbishment to provide a secure, cost-effective and suitably profiled transport for Government Ministers and the Royal Family. It aimed to produce a family of closely related widebody airliners based on the four-engined, long-haul A340 and twin-engined, medium-haul A330. The aircraft now proudly displays the Union Flag alongside RAF markings and is ready to represent the UK across the globe.
Australia was the launch customer for the A330 MRTT. Voyager is the RAF’s sole air-to-air refuelling (AAR) tanker and also operates as a strategic air transport.
The A330 MRTT has been ordered by Australia, France, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea and by NATO in a multi-Nation deal. Also in 2013, 101 Squadron retired the RAF’s final VC10s and began flying Voyager alongside 10 Sqn and AirTanker’s reservists.Although it ranges worldwide, Voyager remains home-based at Brize Norton. In the event, the procurement process was delayed and although Airbus did not tender, in 2004 the Ministry of Defence announced its intention to acquire a variant of the A330 MRTT.Under a March 2008 agreement, the AirTanker consortium was selected to provide 14 aircraft under a 27-year contract. Voyager is the RAF’s sole air-to-air refuelling (AAR) tanker and also operates as a strategic air transport. The RAF Voyager carrying the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had to abandon its landing in Islamabad and return to Lahore due to terrible storms in Pakistan tonight. The RAF Voyager, an Airbus A330 jet, was repurposed for use by the UK government in 2015, at a cost of £10m. The latter achieved its first flight, with General Electric engines, on November 2, 1992, with the initial Rolls-Royce Trent-powered machine following on January 31, 1994.Typically for Airbus, the A330’s pilots interact with its fly-by-wire system via sidestick controllers rather than the yoke traditionally associated with large aircraft. The surge aircraft are demodified very close to A330-200 standard and can be recalled for military use if required.AirTanker owns, manages and maintains the aircraft and provides infrastructure, Issues with the drogues, or ‘baskets’ into which receivers insert their probes during refuelling operations delayed Voyager’s debut in the tanker role, but these had been overcome by summer 2013 and the aircraft’s ability to deliver fuel to a variety of RAF and allied aircraft expanded very quickly. The aircraft is in service as the Voyager KC.Mk 2, equipped with two underwing pods for refuelling fast jets, and as the Voyager KC.Mk 3, with an additional centreline hose for use by large aircraft. These are external links and will open in a new window