The French Air and Space Force will begin to phase out its last three Boeing KC-135 military tanker aircraft in the coming days, replacing them with A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft.
As many as 1,500 people will attend the retirement ceremony, celebrating 60-years of active service, at the Istres Air Base 125 near Marseille on 30 June 2025.
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This aircraft, along with the more recent KC-135 version, provided aerial refueling and airborne nuclear deterrence. The end of this fleet, which numbered 14 units at its peak, is accompanied by the retirement of the 4/31 “Sologne” Air Refueling Squadron, the last squadron equipped with KC-135s.
The A330 MRTT fleet will replace the legacy, strategic air-to-air refuelling aircraft.
MRTT – known as the “Phénix” in France – will carry out refuelling missions that are essential to France’s nuclear deterrence and its reactive and autonomous capacity for action. It fully contributes to the armed forces’ projection capability and contributes to medical evacuation missions.
The new fleet first entered service in 2018, the fleet is operated by the 31st Strategic Air Refueling and Transport Wing, located at Istres Air Base.
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By GlobalDataThere are currently 12 Phénix aircraft in service, and the service will reach 15 units before 2030, when the last Airbus A330 is converted into an MRTT.
More recently, however, during the Paris Air Show 2025, Jean-Brice Dumont, head of airpower at Airbus revealed that the company are beginning to develop a second iteration of the tanker, known as the MRTT+.
The programme is “in full motion”, Dumont said, with an aim to deliver by the end of 2028. However, it is not known whether the remaining three final French MRTT aircraft will make the transition to this new iteration.
MRTT+ is the NEO – new engine option – version of the MRTT, Dumont delineated, meaning it has a greater capability than its predecessor.
