Visiting the 33rd Squadron, RAAF, Amberly Air Base, Australia

03/08/2014
03/04/2014: Second Line of Defense is visiting Australia and discussing with the Australian Air Force some of their modernizations in shaping new capabilities for Australian and Pacific defense. Clearly, one such new capability is the 5-ship squadron of A330MRTT tankers, or the KC-30A. The host for the visit to Amberly…

The F-35, Tanking and the Fleet

06/18/2013
06/18/2013:  By Robbin Laird In these photos provided by the 33rd Fighter Wing, F-35As are being tanked by a KC-135.  The photos were shot from the tanker during the tanking operation. Earlier this year, I wrote a piece in the Canadian journal Front Line Defence on the F-35 and tanking,…

An Update on the A330 Tanker From Down Under

11/04/2012
2012-11-04 Australia is a major buyer of the Airbus Military 330 tanker. It has benefited significantly from the development of the tanker for the USAF, and unlike the USAF, will benefit from the result. [caption id="attachment_46972" align="alignnone" width="300"] RAAF A330 MRTT (KC-30A) refueling an F-16 through ARBS. Credit Photo: Airbus…

The Farnbourgh Airshow 2012: Glimpses of the Future

07/06/2012
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake This year’s Farnbourgh Airshow is occurring at an interesting juncture in history. On the financial side, there is the Euro crisis, and various dynamics such as the fate of the Chinese and American economies. On the defense side, there is the end of a…

British Tanker Begins its Life for the RAF

04/09/2012
Yesterday, the new British A330 tanker began its RAF service life.  The British program is built around a unique leasing approach. The leasing approach allows for amortization of operational costs by sharing life as a commercial freighter with its tanker duties with the RAF. [caption id="attachment_37195" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="First flight…

An Update on the Evolution of the Tanker Boom

06/13/2011
Miguel-Angel Morrell Fuentes, Senior Vice President Engineering, provided an update of the evolution of the Airbus Military tanker technology during the Airbus Trade Media event in mid-May. 06/13/2011 - Although the company is working on elements for a next generation boom, the focus of the briefing was upon changes in…