Transport / Tanker Aircraft

A310 MRTT
Artist's impression of the Airbus MRTT, a wide-bodied, multi-role tanker transport based on the Airbus A310-300, shown refuelling two strike aircraft.	For the air-to-air refuelling (Tanker) role, the aircraft is equipped with five centre fuel tanks or Additional Centre Tanks (ACTs).	The MRTT fuel systems.
Both a flying boom system for the transfer of fuel and a receptacle for receiving fuel can be made available.	The pilot's station.	Hose and drogue pods are situated under the outer wings.
MRTT cockpit layout.

A330-200 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA)
The AirTanker A330-200 MRTT has been selected as the UK's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA).	The A330-200 MRTT aircraft will replace the RAF's fleet of 26 VC-10 and Tristar tanker aircraft.	The FSTA programme represents the world's largest defence Private Financing Initiative (PFI) arrangement.
The A330-200 MRTT can fly 4,000km, refuel six fighter aircraft en route and carry 43t of non-fuel cargo.	Proximity trials with a Tornado aircraft involved assessing its handling in representative positions astern the wing and centreline refuelling stations.	The high fuel capacity of 139,090l or 111t enables the aircraft to fly at longer ranges, stay on station longer and refuel more aircraft.
The aircraft will be fitted with one Cobham FRL 900E Mark 32B refuelling pod under each wing, and some aircraft will also have a centreline underbelly refuelling system.	The proximity trials were carried out between 15,000ft and 20,000ft and the Tornado's handling was very satisfactory in all tested positions.	The FSTA will be powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 772B engines.
Even with a full fuel load, the A330-200 MRTT has the capacity to carry 43t of cargo and up to 285 troops / passengers.

A400M (Future Large Aircraft)
The A400M is equipped with four three-shaft TP400-D6 turboprop engines.	The A400M's capabilities will include aerial refuelling.	The operational requirements for the military transporter aircraft include military missions such as the deployment of Rapid Reaction Forces and humanitarian missions.
The A400M flight simulator.	Wind tunnel testing.	Short soft field landing and take-off capability is required for deployment at poorly maintained airfields close to the area of operations.
The eight-bladed propellers are very distinctive. They are fully reversing with the capability to back the fully loaded aircraft up a 2% slope.	Cargo handling system, main features diagram.

Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA)
The advanced composite cargo aircraft was built by Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences.	The ACCA is a modified version of the Dornier 328J.	The ACCA ready to take off.
Use of composite materials dramatically reduced the weight of the advanced composite cargo aircraft.

An-124 Condor
The An-124 very large cargo aircraft can carry a payload of up to 150t.	The fuselage nose can be hinged upward to open the front cargo hatch.	There is a rear cargo hatch in the rear fuselage to speed up the cargo loading and unloading.
High rough-field capacity multi-leg landing gear and loading equipment.	The Antonov Design Bureau maintains some of its An-124-100, among them UR-82009, that operate international freight services.	An-124-100 RA-82073, one of two Ruslan operated by the Russian State Transport Agency on behalf of the Russian government.
Since 1989, An-124 aircraft have been making charter freight and the aircraft has set 30 world records.	Operators use their Ruslans regularly to haul commercial cargo, as RA-82035, an An-124-100 operated by the Ministry of Defence, demonstrates.

C-12 Huron Military Passenger and Transport Aircraft
The C-12F Huron prototype.	MC-12 aircraft landing at Base Balad after combat sortie.	C-12 Huron military variant.
RC-12 guardrail common sensor aircraft.	C-12J landing at Yokota Air Base, Japan.

C-130J Hercules
C-130J climbs faster, higher and further and takes off and lands in a shorter distance than C-130.	The C-130J Hercules heavy lift aircraft.	Flight Dynamics Head-up Displays are standard equipment on the C-130J.
C-130J has a two-pilot cockpit with a Northrop Grumman low-power colour radar and Lockheed Martin multifunction displays.	The countermeasures system can dispense chaff cartridges and infrared flares and the POET and GEN-X active expendable decoys.	Three C-130J Hercules aircraft flying in formation.
C-130J refuelling in flight.	The cargo bay of the C-130J has a total usable volume of over 4,500 cubic feet and can accommodate loads up to 37,216lb.

C-160 Transall Cargo and Tactical Transport Aircraft
C-160 Transall aircraft are in service with the air forces of France, Germany and Turkey.	The C-160 has been configured as a communications relay and as an electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft, as well as a transport aircraft.	The C-160 can carry up to 16,000kg of cargo, including tanks, or 68 fully equipped paratroops.
The C-160 can air-drop loads up to 8,000kg.	An upgrade programme for the French Air Force C-160 was completed in 1999.	The fuel system includes four wing tanks with a capacity of 19,000 litres and a single-point pressure refuelling system.
The aircraft is equipped with an in-flight refuelling probe mounted above and behind the flight deck.	A recent upgrade programme for the French Air Force included a new head-up display and electronic warfare suite.

C-17 Globemaster III
C-17 Globemaster III on exercise.	The C-17 cargo compartment allows it to carry outsize loads.	C-17 provides rapid positioning of forces, maintenance of unit integrity, dispersion of assets and in-theatre repositioning of forces.
C-17 takes off from Tuzla airbase in Bosnia.	C-17 Globemaster III comes in for a landing on a steel-matted runway at the US Marine Corps Desert Warfare Training Center, California.	Defensive system of the C-17 Globemaster.
The C-17 cockpit accommodates pilot, co-pilot and two observer positions.	Six C-17s at Rhein Main.

C-27J Spartan
Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aeronautica's C-27J Spartan.	The C-27J Spartan Tactical Transport Aircraft.	A C-27J being used for air drops of pallets or CDS (container delivery systems) units.
Altitude, speed and range diagram.	Spartan in flight.	The C-27J is equipped with two AE 2100D3 turboshaft engines supplied by Rolls-Royce North America.
The C-27J Spartan cockpit.	Missions include tactical operations.	The C-27J Spartan taking on cargo.

C-295M
The new C-295 is a stretched derivative of the CN-235 transporter.	The C-295M entered service with the Spanish Air Force in November 2001.	The C-295 flying with the CN-235 in the background.
The C-295 requires just 320m of runway for landing.	The C-295 has a short take-off and landing capability on semi-prepared runways and a large payload capacity of 9,250kg.	The C-295 is 3m longer than the CN-235 seen here in the background.
The maritime patrol variant can be fitted with the FITS mission system, which integrates the data from the sensors.	The cabin can accommodate 48 fully equipped paratroops or up to 75 troops.	The cabin can hold up to three light vehicles or five standard pallets.

C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed Martin C-5B Galaxy strategic transport aircraft2.	The C-5B is capable of carrying a maximum payload up to 118,387kg to a range of 5,526km.	Under the USAF C-5 RERP, the C-5B will have new GE CF6-80-C2 engines and Goodrich pylons.
The USAF has 126 C-5A/B aircraft in service.	C-5 on the ground for loading.	The USAF C-5 avionics modernisation program is providing new flight control and communication / navigation systems.
The US Air Force C-5 upgrade program is to ensure the fleet remains in service to at least 2040.

CN-235-300 Multi-Mission
The CN-235-300 multi-mission tactical aircraft entered service in 2000.	The CN-235 is available in a number of versions including Tactical Transport, Maritime Patrol and Electronic Warfare (ESM/ECM and ELINT/COMINT).	The CN-235-300 has optional twin nosewheels for improved operation on short and unprepared runways.
The CN-235-300 provides improved hot and high performance, in-flight refuelling and higher rated pressurisation.	The CN-235-300 has the capacity for 48 paratroops. Paratroops can be dropped from two rear doors.	The aircraft is capable of operating from short, unpaved runways, with a landing distance of only 603 m.
With a take-off run of just 1,217 m, the CN-235 can transport loads up to 6,000 kg.	There are 17 CN-235 transport aircraft in service with the French Air Force, with two more on order.	For passenger transport, the cabin will accommodate up to 44 passengers, 57 fully equipped troops or 48 paratroops.
The Chilean Army deploys the CN-235 aircraft in the Antarctic and the aircraft are equipped with wheel and ski gear.	The aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 455 km/hr and range of 5,003 km.

Global Airtanker KDC-10
The KDC-10 is a hose and drogue and centerline boom military inflight refuelling aircraft developed by the Global Airtanker Service company.	Global Airtanker Service plans to modify up to 15 DC-10-40 aircraft which were previously owned and operated by Japan Air Lines.	The Global Airtanker KDC-10 on static display at the Farnborough Air Show in 2004.
The two flight refuelling MK32-900 wing pods provide a fuel delivery rate of 400gal/min.	The centerline FR300 hose and drogue system delivers 500gal/min of fuel.	The centerline boom delivers 900gal/min and is operated remotely with a fly-by-wire cabin camera system.
In a tanker / cargo transport configuration, the main deck can carry up to 29 standard 88in x 108in pallets, equivalent to 13,600ft³ (385m³) of palleted cargo.	Global Airtanker Service is arranging flexible lease options, including an hourly as-needed basis to supply a military aerial refuelling service.

IL-76
An Ilyushin IL-76MD, NATO codename 'Candid-B', of the Ukrainian Air Force.	An Ilyushin Il-76, NATO codename 'Candid', of the Indian Air Force.	An Ilyushin IL-76 loading a medium battle tank.
An Ilyushin IL-76MD of the Ukrainian Air Force. The aircraft landing gear comprises four main units.	An IL-76MF, Ilyushin OKB, on display. There are several design variants, including the IL-76, IL-76M, IL-76MD and the IL-76-MF.	An Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft dropping parachutists. The air-drop equipment is intended to air drop paratroopers, materiel and cargo.
An Ilyushin IL-76 loading troops. Equipment is suspended from an electrically powered overhead rail.	A pair of Ilyushin IL-76s taxiing and on the runway prior to take-off.

IL-78 (Midas)
The Ilyushin IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft is a four-engine tanker principally used for in-flight refuelling.	The IL-78MKI is a tailor-made variant of IL-78M and is equipped with Israeli fuel transferring systems.	The IL-78 was designed and developed on the basis of a similar predecessor, the IL-76 (pictured), and has the Nato reporting name Midas.
The IL-78 Midas aircraft was developed as part of the tanker project in 1982 to enhance the transferable fuel load of the earlier version IL-76.

KC-135 Stratotanker
The US Air Force has about 550 KC-135 Stratotankers in service.	The USAF selected Rockwell Collins to carry out the modernisation of the avionics system under the KC-135 Pacer CRAG (Compass, Radar and Global Positioning System) program.	The KC-135R aircraft has been updated with more efficient CFM International CFM-56 engines.
Some KC-135 aircraft have been configured for other missions, such as reconnaissance and as a flying command post.	KC-135 Stratotankers are in service in the air forces of the USA, France, Turkey and Singapore.	The upgraded cockpit of the KC-135 has a Pacer CRAG flight deck layout with intuitive eyes-up control of Global Air Traffic Management functions.
The primary air fuel transfer method is through the tanker aircraft's flying boom. An operator stationed at the rear of the fuselage controls the refuelling boom.

KC-390
The development of the KC-390 will result in an effective cargo and tanker aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force.	The twin-turbofan-powered KC-390 can be refuelled in flight and can be used for in-flight or on-ground refuelling of other aircraft.	The KC-390 is expected to be assembled at Embraer's Gavião Peixoto plant in Brazil.

KC-45 Tanker Aircraft
The first flight of the Northrop GrummanKC-45 in September 2007.	Northrop Grumman, with EADS, is proposing the KC-45 for the USAF KC-X tanker replacement programme. Computer graphic of the KC-34 refuelling F-35 joint strike fighters.	Computer graphic of the KC-45 refuellingF-22 aircraft using the aerial refuelling boom.
The KC-45 has a maximum fuel capacity of 250,000lbs, 25% more fuel than the capacity of the KC-135 aircraft. Computer graphic with F/A-18 aircraft.	The KC-45 aircraft is based on the A330 multi-role tanker transport, which has been selected by Australia, the UK and the UAE. Roll-out of the first aircraft for Australia.	Computer graphic of the KC-45 refuelling a B-2 aircraft using the EADS aerial refuelling boom system (ARBS).
The KC-45 is fitted with a refuelling receptacle which allows a tanker returning to base to off-load any excess fuel to the incoming tanker.	The EADS ARBS boom can offload up to 1,200gal of fuel a minute. Computer graphic with C-17 aircraft.	Four KC-45B aircraft have been ordered by the Royal Australian Air Force for delivery from 2009.
Up to 400 replacement tanker aircraft could be required for the USAF KC-X programme.	Computer graphic of the KC-45 with its aerial refuelling boom extended ready to fuel an F-22.	Hose and drogue refuelling of F/A-18 aircraft.

KC-767
The Boeing 767 global tanker transport aircraft.	The 767 tanker can be fitted with either boom and receptacle refuelling, hose and drogue refuelling or both.	The tanker's main cabin is left free for cargo, passenger or both cargo and passenger transportation.
A 767 engine nacelle being fitted to a General Electric CF6-80C2B jet engine. Italy and Japan have chosen GE engines for their tankers.	The 767 tanker is a high-performance version of the 767-200ER twin-aisle jetliner equipped for fully integrated tanker operations.	The US Air Force is seeking a replacement for some of its older KC-135 Stratotankers.
The commercial 767 first entered service in 1982 and more than 880 aircraft have been delivered, accumulating more than nine million flights.	The 767 aircraft is also the platform for the 767AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System, in service with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) since May 2000.

V-22 Osprey
The tilt-rotor aircraft has three variants: MV-22, CV-22 and HV-22.	The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multi-mission, tilt-rotor aircraft.	The V-22 is being developed for the US Marine Corps, the US Army and the US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM).
The US Marine Corps variant, MV-22.	The Advanced Technology cockpit.	The US Navy variant, HV-22.
The aircraft is powered by two T406-AD-400 turboshaft engines.	The entire rotor, transmission and engine nacelles tilt through 90°.

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