European Defence Ministers, meeting informally today at RAF Lyneham (U.K.), were given a demonstration of air-tanking capability and launched a new effort to fill the gap in tanking capability which constrains Europe’s Rapid Reaction aspirations.
Following their meeting in the European Defence Agency’s Steering Board, the Ministers of 10 Member States (Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Belgium and Portugal) issued the following joint announcement:
“Initiatives to build European air-to-air refuelling capabilities, whether in NATO or the EU, have not made the necessary progress in recent years, despite the efforts of some individual EU Member States. ESDP’s new Headline Goal 2010, like the Helsinki Headline Goal before it, will fall short unless we can find a new approach to filling this key capability gap. At Javier Solana’s initiative, therefore, we reviewed current air to air refuelling national capability plans. As a result of our discussion, we have decided to instruct our national staffs to work together, in an EDA-supported ad hoc group, to monitor current developments and consider possible new approaches to filling the capability gap.”
Background on Air-to-Air Refuelling
The EU Headline Goal process has identified confirmed the importance of air-to-air refuelling (AAR) capability for European crisis-management operations. The current requirement is in the range of just over 70 strategic tankers. Six Member States contribute to this capability: the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. There is a major shortfall based on what is currently available or planned. The current contributions make up less than half the agreed requirement.
The role of strategic tankers is growing while European fleets are getting older. Operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan have shown the importance of these assets. They have undertaken over 30% of the total flying sorties, ensuring that attack and support aircraft can get to and from their targets and enabling fighters to stay airborne to protect friendly civilian populations and military forces. All lessons identified from recent operations have highlighted AAR assets as a ‘force multiplier’ - allowing more efficient and effective use of expensive and scarce fighter and attack aircraft within the theatre of operations.
There are currently European based initiatives in the UK, Germany and Italy. Germany is taking delivery of 4 converted A-310 aircraft and Italy is acquiring 4 new KC 767 to replace their ageing B707TTs. In both initiatives the aircraft will be configured to be Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) capable. The UK is currently in contractual negotiations to provide a replacement to their VC-10 and Tristar aircraft through a Public Finance Initiative (PFI) solution.
The European Capability Action Plan (ECAP) and NATO’s Prague Commitment Conference (PCC) have considered various ways forward. The new initiative co-ordinated by the EDA will enable Member States who are willing to commit resources to adopt a more integrated and comprehensive approach to remedying the shortfall. For example, a way forward incorporating the MRTT principle, providing a significant transport capability (both cargo and personnel), could address another significant ESDP capability shortfall - strategic airlift - for both intensive combat situations and in support of civilian operations such as humanitarian assistance.
The EDA co-ordinated Ad Hoc Project Team will examine the UK Private Financing Initiative (PFI) model. This considers the provision of a ‘capability service’ - airborne refuelling stations supplied by a commercial consortium - rather than a classical procurement of aircraft. But it will also review other acquisition options, such as joint procurement, and look at such approaches as pooling of assets.
(1) - The Netherlands has also joined the ad hoc group, which therefore now consists of 11 participating Member States.