Successful A330 MRTT flight test campaign for F-15 fighters automatic refuelling

Airbus and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) worked together to successfully complete the automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) flight test campaign with the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and F-15 fighter, ahead of its certification in the first half of 2024.

Over the course of three weeks in August, a RSAF A330 MRTT made more than 500 automated wet and dry contacts with the Air Force’s full fleet of receiver aircraft, including the F-15SG aircraft, a customised variant of the US-built F-15E Strike Eagle air-to-ground fighter jet.

“The A330 MRTT has made the future of air-to-air refuelling a reality as a result of the joint efforts of Airbus and the Republic of Air Force,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space. “This new milestone will enable the RSAF to become the first Air Force in the world to have a boom automatic refuelling capability with all of its receivers, a capability that can be extended to refuelling receivers from other nations”.

The flight tests with F-15SG were conducted in Singapore, covering the whole operational AAR envelope in different weather conditions under the supervision of the Spanish certifying authority, called INTA (National Institute for Aerospace Technology).

Automatic air-to-air at night with F-15s, F-16s and MRTT

Boeing Delivers Next F-15EX Ahead of Schedule

Eight months from contract award to the first F-15EX delivery

F-15EX will soon start official flight testing on the path to fielding at F-15C bases

Open architecture enabled

Photo Boeing

On Tuesday, a Boeing-led industry team officially delivered a second F-15EX fighter aircraft to the U.S. Air Force earlier than the contract requirement. The result of a collaboration across industry, the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard, the F-15EX is a ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class payload, range and speed and an all-new digital infrastructure.

“Moving from contract award to delivery in a matter of months enables the U.S. Air Force to get a head start on flight testing and demonstrates our commitment to exceeding expectations,” said Prat Kumar, Boeing vice president and F-15 program manager. “Along with state-of-the-art avionics and survivability suite, the new F-15EX includes almost 3 miles of high-speed digital data bus to enable open architecture, which will keep it evolving ahead of threats for decades.”