NATO Allies expand strategic airlift capacity

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On Tuesday (7 July), NATO Allies took a major step to increase NATO and national strategic airlift and tanker capabilities.

At the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye, seven NATO Allies (Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom) launched a new multinational High Visibility Project for a fleet on the Airbus A400M military aircraft.

The A400M multinational initiative follows the success of the multinational Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet, which received its first aircraft in 2020. It will follow the same ‘pooling and sharing’ concept, where participating countries pool the aircraft and share costs, benefitting from economies of scale. The project also allows participating Allies to cooperate in areas such as joint procurement, logistical support or training.

The Airbus A400M gives NATO and Allied forces much greater operational flexibility, and allows the movement of military assets across the Alliance in peace, conflict and crisis. It has a high payload and a long-range, which means it can access locations that many larger aircraft cannot reach.

Alongside the A400M multinational initiative, Finland joined the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF). Together, the nine MRTT members (Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) also announced the imminent delivery of the 10th Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft, bringing the Fleet closer to its full capacity of 12 aircraft.

Both the A400M and the A330 MRTT fleets bring advanced multi-role performance, higher efficiency, and greater interoperability. They deliver exceptional air-to-air refuelling, strategic airlift, and medical evacuation capabilities to the Alliance and help support strong deterrence and defence.