A330 MRTT
ICAO A332Europe's tanker: an A330 airliner converted to refuel and carry. Live A330 MRTT, Voyager and Phénix positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30sAirframe
- Manufacturer
- Airbus Defence and Space
- Role
- Aerial refuelling and transport
- Class
- L2J — Landplane, 2 jet engines
- Crew
- 3 to 5
- First flight
- 15 June 2007
- In service
- 2011
Operators airborne
About the A330 MRTT
Where the United States built a tanker on a 767, most of the rest of the world built one on an A330. The MRTT carries its fuel in the standard wing and centre tanks — no extra cells in the cargo hold — which leaves the entire lower deck free for freight, and the cabin free for passengers or stretchers.
It flies under a different name almost everywhere. Britain calls it Voyager, France the Phénix, Australia the KC-30A, and the NATO Multinational MRTT Fleet operates a pooled group from Eindhoven and Cologne. All of them appear here under the same A332 designator.
On the feed it behaves like the tanker it is: long orbits at a constant level, often over the North Sea, the Baltic or the eastern Mediterranean, with fighters joining and leaving the track.
Callsign prefixes
- CTM
- Cotam — French Air and Space Force Phénix
- RRR
- Ascot — Royal Air Force Voyager
- NATO
- Multinational MRTT Fleet aircraft
- ASY
- Aussie — Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A
How to recognise it
- —A full-size widebody airliner: two engines, a very long wing, and no visible military modification from a distance.
- —Refuelling pods under each wing, and on most variants a boom under the tail.
- —Frequently the largest aircraft in a formation, holding steady while smaller tracks converge on it.
Common questions
+ What is the difference between a Voyager and an A330 MRTT?
None, beyond the name. Voyager is the Royal Air Force designation for its A330 MRTT fleet. France calls the same aircraft the Phénix and Australia the KC-30A.
+ Can the A330 MRTT refuel and carry cargo at once?
Yes, and that is its main advantage. Because the fuel lives in the wings, the cargo hold stays available, so one aircraft can tank fighters and move freight on the same sortie.
+ What is the Multinational MRTT Fleet?
A pooled group of aircraft owned jointly by several NATO members including the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Belgium, based at Eindhoven and Cologne and shared between them rather than owned nationally.