The Acceptance and Transfer of Title of fifth MMF aircraft took place on 31 August at Airbus Defence and Space premises in Getafe/Spain and was successfully delivered by OCCAR-EA, as Contracting Authority, to NATO.
Upon completion of the acceptance process, the ownership of the aircraft was transferred through OCCAR-EA from Airbus Defence and Space to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), who manages the fleet on behalf of the MMF nations.
The delivery of the fifth MMF aircraft represents another important milestone in the MMF acquisition programme. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the willingness of the MMF team to succeed, fostered by the MMF Nations' trust in OCCAR’s effective management has been a key success factor. This achievement yet again demonstrates OCCAR’s ability to deliver on time, in budget and on performance to its customers.
This is the fifth MMF aircraft from a full fleet of nine Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft (Multi Role Tanker Transport) ordered by OCCAR-EA on behalf of NATO.
The MMF fleet will be able to provide strategic transport, air-to-air refuelling and medical evacuation capabilities to its six participating nations (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Norway). The Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Unit (MMU) is operating the aircraft from Eindhoven (NL) and Cologne (DE) for training purposes and deploy on operational tasks.
Next year, the delivery of the sixth and seventh MMF aircraft will complete the OCCAR involvement in the Programme with the handover to NSPA at the end of 2022, bring to an end a highly successful cooperation between the two agencies. The expected delivery of the last aircraft on order will be at the end of 2024.