TSAMTO, November 15. During the Dubai Airshow 2021, the Command of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense Forces signed a contract with Airbus Defense and Space for the supply of two additional multi-purpose tanker transports A-330 MRTT (Multirole Tanker Transport).
The company does not disclose the cost of the sale, but according to representatives of the UAE Ministry of Defense, it is about 2.46 billion dirhams (about $ 664 million at the current exchange rate). Aircraft deliveries will begin in 2024. The agreement also provides for the modernization of the A-330 MRTT aircraft previously purchased by the UAE Ministry of Defense to the most modern configuration.
The placed order will increase the fleet of A-330 MRTT aircraft in the UAE Air Force to five units.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the UAE Air Force signed a contract with Airbus Military for the purchase of the first three A-330 MRTT tanker transports in February 2008. The cost of this purchase is estimated at 4.4 billion dirhams ($1.2 billion).
The ordered aircraft were delivered to the UAE Air Force from February to August 2013. They can be used to refuel Mirage-2000-9 and F-16E/F Block fighters in the air.60, as well as the transportation of troops and cargo.
The A-330 MRTT aircraft of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense Forces are equipped with a remote-controlled refueling rod system (ARBS) for refueling F-16E/F, a pair of underwing containers with a hose and a docking node of the refueling system for refueling Mirage-2000-9, and a universal UARRSI system used to obtain fuel from another tanker.
