Automatic Air-to-Air Refuelling At Night: The A330 MRTT Conquers A New Tech Frontier

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Air-to-air refuelling remains one of the most complex missions in aviation.

The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) continues its goal to make this operation faster and safer by optimising the air-to-air refuelling rate in operational conditions and reducing the flight crew workload to maximise the air superiority.

The Airbus A330 MRTT has achieved a world first aviation milestone by completing an automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) flight test campaign in night conditions – a key step towards certification in 2025.

Between May and June this year, a Republic of Singapore Air Force A330 MRTT embodying the latest A3R system configuration, conducted ten flights with Portuguese F-16s and Singapore F-16s, F-15SGs fighters and another Singapore MRTT as the receiver.

During these flights, more than 500 contacts were performed, out of which more than 150 contacts were automatic in night conditions.

As part of these night tests, contacts were carried out in different night illumination conditions and receiver external configurations. 

This milestone was achieved by following the development of new A3R night operation algorithms and new camera system standards.

The new camera system incorporates state-of-the-art technology that not only enables the A3R to operate at night, but also improves the image quality used by the air-to-air refuelling operator during manual operations, further enhancing the quality of the A330 MRTT’s vision system in day, dusk and night conditions.

Earlier in April this year, the A330 MRTT achieved certification from the Spanish certifying authority INTA (National Institute for Aerospace Technology) to perform automatic refuelling during daylight conditions with the F-15 aircraft.

The A330 MRTT is already certified to perform automatic air-to air refuelling operations with the F-16 aircraft and A330 MRTTs.

With more than 300,000 flight hours, the Airbus A330 MRTT has the capability to refuel more than 25 different types of aircraft. — DSA