The Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand introduced that Canada has finalized a contract to amass the primary two plane for the Royal Canadian Air Power (RCAF) that may substitute and renew the potential presently fulfilled by the CC-150 Polaris fleet and later grow to be a part of the Strategic Tanker Transport Functionality (STTC) fleet. The contract for the procurement and preparation of two Airbus A330-200 plane, manufactured in 2015, was awarded to Worldwide AirFinance Company and is valued at $102 Million USD (taxes excluded). Since 1992, the CC-150 Polaris plane and its crews have offered excellent service to Canada. The Polaris is the plane that gives the vast majority of air-to-air refueling for the Royal Canadian Air Power’s fighter fleet, permitting the RCAF to increase their vary and working time. This functionality has seen intensive use at residence and overseas, together with on Operation IMPACT, the place it delivered greater than 65 million kilos of gas to coalition plane. The fleet additionally fulfills many different roles, together with army personnel and cargo airlift; strategic Authorities of Canada personnel transport; and medical evacuations.
After practically 30 years of excellent service, the RCAF is seeking to the way forward for this important functionality, and with at this time’s announcement, we’re transferring ahead to the subsequent step of the Strategic Tanker Transport Functionality (STTC) venture. This venture, which is Initiative #47 of Canada’s defence coverage, Robust, Safe, Engaged (SSE), will substitute and renew the RCAF’s air-to-air refueling functionality for the subsequent technology. The STTC venture, inside its presently authorized scope, will purchase enough plane to offer the RCAF with three steady strains of tasking to ship on Canada’s defence coverage, to defend Canadians, to satisfy Canada’s NORAD and NATO commitments, and permit our Canadian Armed Forces to proceed to contribute to peace and stability overseas by their operations.
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The STTC plane may even be outfitted to airlift massive numbers of CAF personnel and their tools in help of operations and coaching actions inside Canada, together with in Canada’s Arctic areas, and around the globe, which is able to improve the present transport capability offered by the CC-177 Globemaster and CC-130J Hercules fleets, permitting for the extra environment friendly motion of personnel and tools. And, as a multi-role plane, the STTC plane will present the RCAF with elevated flexibility, permitting planners to pick out probably the most applicable plane for a selected airlift mission, and it’ll enhance the RCAF’s means to reply to sudden operational necessities, equivalent to home or worldwide emergencies or humanitarian aid missions.
The precise variety of plane within the Strategic Tanker Transport Functionality fleet is presently anticipated to be six plane (together with these two Airbus A330-200 plane). These two industrial plane will later be modified by Airbus Defence and Area to army specs required to function multirole plane throughout the STTC fleet, and they’re going to play an integral position in offering air-to-air refuelling, strategic airlift, aeromedical evacuations, and strategic Authorities of Canada personnel transport, together with transport of the Prime Minister, Governor Basic, and others, for many years to come back.
