Role Wide-body airliner
National origin Multi-national
Manufacturer Airbus
First flight 2 November 1992
Introduction 17 January 1994 with Air Inter
Status In service
Primary users Delta Air Lines
Turkish Airlines
Produced 1992–present
Number built 1,576 as of July 2023
Developed from Airbus A300
Variants Airbus A330 MRTTEADS/
Northrop Grumman KC-45
Developed into Airbus A330neo / Airbus Beluga XL
The first specifications for the TA9 and TA11, aircraft that could accommodate 410 passengers in a one-class layout, emerged in 1982. They showed a large underfloor cargo area that could hold five cargo pallets or sixteen LD3 cargo containers in the forward, and four pallets or fourteen LD3s in the aft hold—double the capacity of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar or DC-10, and 8.46 metres (27.8 ft) longer than the Airbus A300.] By June 1985, the TA9 and TA11 had received more improvements, including the adoption of the A320 flight deck, digital fly-by-wire (FBW) control system, and side-stick control. Airbus had developed a common cockpit for their aircraft models to allow quick transition by pilots. The flight crews could transition from one type to another after only one week's training, which reduces operator costs. The two TAs would use the vertical stabiliser, rudder, and circular fuselage sections of the A300-600, extended by two barrel sections.
The A330 MRTT has a maximum fuel capacity of 111,000 kg (245,000 lb) without the use of additional fuel tanks, leaving space for 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) of additional cargo. The A330 MRTT's wing has common structure with the four-engine A340-200/-300 with reinforced mounting locations and provision for fuel piping for the A340's outboard engines. The A330 MRTT's wing therefore requires little modification to use these hardpoints for the wing refuelling podsCeiling
Range
Aircraft Speed
Max Crew
| Wing Span | 60,30 m | 197 ft 10 in |
| Wing Area | 361,6 m² | 3892 ft² |
| Length | 63,60 m | 208 ft 8 in |
| Height | 16,70 m | 54 ft 9 in |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed | 900 km/h | 486 kts 559 mph |
| Mmo (max. Mach) | Mach 0.86 | |
| Service Ceiling | 12.634 m | 41.450 ft |
| Range | 10.501 km | 5.670 NM6.525 mi. |
The A330 MRTT has been ordered by Australia, France, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, and by NATO in a multi-nation deal. Australia was the launch customer for the A330 MRTT.
The boom operators sit at a video console using the Boom Enhanced Vision System.
Designated as KC-30A, the RAAF A330 MRTTs are equipped with both an Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS)[10] and two Cobham 905E under-wing refuelling pods.
