U.S. B-52 To Integrate With Singaporean A330 MRTT
February 16,
2022
A
Republic of Singapore Air Force Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport at the
2022 Singapore Airshow static display on Feb. 16.
Credit:
Brian Everstine/ShowNews
SINGAPORE—A U.S. Air Force Boeing
B-52 bomber will link up with a Republic of Singapore Air Force Airbus A330
Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) on Feb. 17 as part of a broad U.S.-partner
push to expand the ability of aircraft to receive fuel from tankers of
international operators.
The B-52 is coming to the region for
a display at the Singapore Airshow and will fly with the A330, separately, from
the event. The B-52 will not connect with the tanker, but it is an early step
toward certifying the nuclear bomber with the Singaporean refueler, says U.S
Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces.
Once certified, it will mark the
first U.S. nuclear bomber cleared to refuel from the MRTT.
Wilsbach’s goal is to have all
allied and partner aircraft certified to receive from all available tankers.
“Let’s give fuel or receive fuel and
let’s not worry too much about where did the tanker come from, or where did the
receiver come from,” he says. “But in order to do that, you have to certify all
the platforms with all the platforms.”
Much work will be needed to get to
that point, and it will move slowly, he says.
“You don’t just do that off the cuff
or on the fly. You make sure that you’ve done the engineering work and
everything’s [going to] work, so you don’t end up damaging or losing a very
valuable asset. So we go pretty slow on those,” he says.
The A330 MRTT is already certified
for several U.S. aircraft, including the Boeing C-17, E-3 and P-8A, Lockheed
Martin F-22 and F-35A, and the A-10, B-1B, F-15 and F-16. Thirteen countries
fly the Airbus tanker, and a variant of the aircraft from Lockheed Martin is an
entrant in the Air Force’s KC-Y program to follow-on after all 179 planned
KC-46s are delivered.
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