{"id":3295,"date":"2018-10-20T11:20:31","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T14:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/?p=3295"},"modified":"2018-10-22T11:35:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T14:35:16","slug":"first-airbus-a330-mrtt-phenix-joins-the-french-air-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/20\/first-airbus-a330-mrtt-phenix-joins-the-french-air-force\/","title":{"rendered":"First Airbus A330 MRTT \u00ab Ph\u00e9nix \u00bb joins the French Air Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 19th, 2018, will be remembered by many aviationists and invitees present at Istres air base BA 125 as the day that witnessed the official hand out to the French Air Force of its very first Airbus A330 Multirole tanker and transport new generation aircraft Airbus A330-200 MRTT MSN 1735 (military serial 041 – F-UJCG).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This event took place under the aegis of France\u2019s Minister of the Armies, Mrs Florence Parly, assisted by General Philippe Lavigne, the recently appointed new Chief of Staff of the Arm\u00e9e de l\u2019Air, right in front of the 31st EARTS\u2019 brand new maintenance and HQ building which sprung out of the barren and bush bedecked Plaine de la Crau over the past summer in order to welcome today the new Airbus aircraft. The 31e Escadre a\u00e9rienne de ravitaillement et de transport strat\u00e9gique (EARTS) gathers two main units : Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol (GRV) 2\/91 \u201cBretagne\u201d and Escadron des Soutiens Techniques Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9s (ESTS) 15\/93.<\/p>\n

The well-dubbed A330 MRTT \u201cPh\u00e9nix\u201d is due to replace over the 2019-2025 period the now well long-in-tooth Boeing Stratotanker fleet of fourteen aircraft \u2014 C-135FR and KC-135RG \u2014 which have been at the heart of France\u2019s \u201cForce de Frappe\u201d since 1964. Precisely on October 8th, 1964, when General de Gaulle, then Pr\u00e9sident de la R\u00e9publique, witnessed at BA118 in Mont-de-Marsan the first alert take-off of a Dassault Mirage IVA nuclear bomber supported by a Boeing C-135F. Some twelve A330 MRTTs should re-equip GRV 2\/91 \u201cBretagne\u201d in a six to seven time-scale with the second aircraft earmarked to land at Istres by the end of 2019, by which time the dry-run operational evaluation of the big aircraft by a specialized CEAM French Air Force team of 40 \u2014 pilots, boomers and mechanics \u2014 started in late 2017 will be complete. As of today, the \u201cPh\u00e9nix\u201d is fully qualified to top-off with all models of in service Mirage 2000s and Rafales, thus providing the French 200+-strong fighter fleet of Mirage 2000s and Rafales with a hi-tech 3X-force multiplier elongation tool.<\/p>\n

The time-scale is huge\u2026 as General Lavigne declared to the attending crowd : \u00ab More time as elapsed in French AF history between the arrival at Istres of the first C-135F [in 1964]and the reception of the first A330 MRTT \u201cPh\u00e9nix\u201d [in 2018]\u2014 that is fifty-four years \u2014 than between the year of the World War 1 iconic SPAD biplane [first flown in 1916]and the reception of the first Boeing C-135Fs in France \u2014 some forty-eight years\u2026 \u00bb<\/p>\n

A keystone of France\u2019s 50-year old nuclear strike force<\/strong>
\nThe Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker was initially purchased by the USAF to support bombers of the Strategic Air Command, but by the late 1960s, in the Southeast Asia theatre, the KC-135 Stratotanker’s ability as a force multiplier came to the forefront. Midair refueling of F-105 Thunderchief and F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers as well as B-52 Stratofortress bombers brought far-flung bombing targets within reach, and allowed fighter missions to spend hours at the front, rather than a few minutes, which was usual due to their limited fuel reserves and high fuel consumption.<\/p>\n

France initialy purchased from Boeing twelve C-135F models \u2014 actually a cross-bred between the USAF KC-135A tanker and C-135B cargo \u2014 three of which were placed in QRA spread out in three dedicated tanker units \u2014 escadrons de ravitaillement en vol (ERV), all aircraft were delivered between 1964 and 1966. After 1999, they were joined by three additional refurbished \u201cPacer-Crag\u201d (CRAG = Compass, Radar And GPS) KC-135Rs purchased directly from USAF surplus stock. Each Arm\u00e9e de l\u2019Air squadron had on strength a quartet of C-135F on rotating alert:<\/p>\n

\u2022 ERV 4\/91 \u00ab Landes \u00bb from 1964 at BA 118 in Mont-de-Marsan;
\n\u2022 ERV 4\/93 \u00ab Aunis \u00bb from 1965 at BA 125 in Istres;
\n\u2022 ERV 4\/94 \u00ab Sologne \u00bb from 1966 at BA 702 in Avord.<\/p>\n

A little voyage in time<\/strong>
\nIt should be recalled that the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1957; it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service with its two original operators : the USA and France. All KC-135\/C-135Fs were originally equipped with Pratt & Whitney J-57-P-59W turbojet engines, which produced 10,000 lbf (44 kN) of thrust dry, and approximately 13,000 lbf (58 kN) of thrust wet. Wet thrust was achieved through the use of a water injection system on takeoff burning 670 US gallons (2,500 litres) of purified water injected into the engines over the course of three minutes.<\/p>\n

How did it work? The water was injected into the inlet and the diffuser case in front of the combustion case of the J57. The water would thus cool the air entering the engine in order to increase its density; it also reduced the turbine gas temperature, which is a primary limitation on many jet engines. This allowed the use of more fuel for proper combustion and created more thrust for short periods of time. Oldtimers at Istres remember well the pandemonial roar a J57-powered C-135F made of take-off ! However these jet engines from the fifties were at some point too noisy and did not produce enough power to propel in the air a fully loaded Stratotanker in hot regions of the world.<\/p>\n

Therefore a major modification programme retrofitted as of 1986 about 500 aircraft with new CFM International CFM56 (military designation: F108) high-bypass turbofan engines produced by General Electric and Snecma. The CFM56 engine produces approximately 22,500 lbf (100 kN) of thrust, nearly a 100% increase compared to the original J-57 engine. The modified tanker, designated KC-135R (modified KC-135A or E) or KC-135T (modified KC-135Q), or C-135FR for France, can offload up to 50% more fuel (on a long-duration sortie), is 25% more fuel-efficient, and costs 25% less to operate than with the previous engines. It is also significantly quieter than the KC-135A, with noise levels at takeoff reduced from 126 to 99 decibels, thus universally accepted by commercial airports.<\/p>\n

The KC-135R\/C-135FR’s operational range is 60% greater than initial models for comparable fuel offloads, providing a wider range of basing options, however the Stratotanker is now reaching the retirement age even if a few reached the second-hand market in the meantime in Singapore and Turkey, and that\u2019s the reason why it is being gradually replaced worldwide by the Airbus A330 MRTT \u2014 chosen yet by almost a dozen different air forces with further propects mulling along for more \u2014 or the new and smaller Boeing KC-46A Pegasus selected so far only by the USAF, and after a heavily biased contest against the\u2026 Airbus A330 MRTT\/KC-330\/Northrop KC-45, thanks to the powerful \u201cBuy American only lobby\u201d in Washington.<\/p>\n

Moving ahead with the \u201cPh\u00e9nix\u201d<\/strong>
\nIf the lights are far from being out yet for the veteran French Air Force Stratotanker fleet \u2014with the retirement of the first Boeing not planned before the end of 2019 \u2014 the advent of the Ph\u00e9nix in Istres is a first sign of the coming of a new era, quite physically obvious in the air base landscape with the erection of new massive and modern buildings entirely devoted to the support of the new Airbus multirole transport and tanker aircraft.<\/p>\n

The latest French military procurent law has decided on a future fleet of 12 Rolls Royce Trent 700-powered A330 MRTTs for GRV 2\/91, however Mrs Parly has stressed during the October 19th reception ceremony at Istres, that her strongest will is to see this 12-strong fleet reach in total 15 A330 MRTTs after 2025. The three additional aircraft certainly based on the latest A330-200neo commercial airframes now about to be delivered by Airbus in Toulouse. Let\u2019s mention here that as of today by end 2018 some 1,500 A330s have been produced for dozens of airlines around the world since 1994 and that the A330 is nowadays internationally reckoned as one of the most reliable \u00ab wide body \u00bb in use.<\/p>\n

Starting in 2020 and until the end of 2023, GRV 2\/91 \u201cBretagne\u201d should receive from 2 to 3 A330 MRTTs per year directly from the Airbus Conversion Centre in Spain by which time France\u2019s Ph\u00e9nix-fleet will be the most important within NATO, on par with the 14 similar Voyager KC2\/KC3 of Britain\u2019s Royal Air Force (owned by the private AirTanker holding). As for the veteran French C-135FR\/KC-135RGs, 2024 will adamantly mean the end of the road, and disposal for scrap. It is however hoped two aircraft will be saved at Le Mus\u00e9e de l\u2019Air et de l\u2019Espace at Le Bourget \u2014 a testimony of General de Gaulle\u2019s grandeur \u2014 and one as a gate guardian in Istres-Le Tub\u00e9, especially as BA125 is due to become by 2025 France\u2019s largest military aviation and transport hub.\/\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 19th, 2018, will be remembered by many aviationists and invitees present at Istres air base BA 125 as the day that witnessed the official hand out to the French Air Force of its very first Airbus A330 Multirole tanker and transport new generation aircraft Airbus A330-200 MRTT MSN 1735 (military serial 041 – F-UJCG).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[65,67,74,201,417,418],"class_list":["post-3295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-defense","tag-france","tag-airbus","tag-mrtt","tag-a330","tag-armee-de-lair","tag-phenix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3295"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3298,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295\/revisions\/3298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinaero.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}