RAAF No. 33 Squadron and Aircraft Research and Development Unit worked with U.S. Navy VX-20 to conduct the trials from Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Taken on May 29, 2018 the cool photos in this post show a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) KC-30A belonging to No. 33 Squadron refuelling a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon belonging to VX-20 during trials from Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River.
The Australian KC-30 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a multi-role tanker transport based on the Airbus A330 commercial aircraft, which has been militarized, turned into a tanker, and has 270 passenger seats.
It features advanced communication and navigation systems, and an electronic warfare self-protection system for shielding against threats from surface-to-air missiles.
The Air Force’s KC-30A aircraft are based at RAAF Base Amberley, operated by No. 33 Squadron.
According to the RAAF, the Australian military operates five KC-30A MRTTs with two more joining the fleet in 2018. The KC-30A has a fuel capacity of more than 100 tons allowing it to fly up to 1800 kilometers from its home base and offload up to 50 tons of fuel for four hours.
The KC-30A comes with under-floor cargo compartments which can accommodate 34,000 kilograms of military and civilian cargo pallets and containers.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy Photograph by Liz Wolter
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
