Alberto Rodríguez Campos

Operational readiness today, sovereign mass tomorrow! A look back at German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius’ visit to our military aviation hub in Manching 🇩🇪 yesterday. Following the recent first European flight of our U740 Valkyrie Collaborative Combat Aircraft, we demonstrated how Airbus is shaping the future of European air power: ➡️ Driving CCAs Valkyrie and Ravenstorm ➡️ Showing crewed-uncrewed teaming with our sovereign MARS mission system and modular CCAs, Valkyrie and Ravenstorm ➡️ Scaling rapid drone-defence capabilities, including our Bird of Prey interceptor. Thank you to Minister Pistorius and the delegation, for engaging with our teams and the recognition of our commitment to innovation, leadership, and defence solutions made in Germany and Europe. Serving those who defend our freedom and democracies.

We have delivered the third Airbus A330 MRTT to the @Defensagob completing the order placed in 2021. The aircraft will be operated by the 45th Wing of the @EjercitoAire from Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base (Madrid). The #Airbus A330 MRTTs for the Spanish Air and Space Force are equipped with a state-of-the-art hose-and-drogue refuelling system and feature an endurance of more than 18 hours of flight time and a range of 16,000 kilometres. The global #A330MRTT fleet has accumulated more than 375,000 flight hours. Its large basic fuel load capacity of 111 tonnes allows it, among other functions, to perform air-to-air refuelling missions without the need to add extra fuel tanks. To date, there is an order book of 91 A330 MRTTs, of which we have delivered 68 aircraft to more than 18 countries.

The ride of the Valkyrie ⚔️ With the successful first flight of the Airbus U740 Valkyrie in Europe, we are one step closer to introducing an operational uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to the German and other European Armed Forces. The flight achieved all objectives, including a rocket-assisted take-off, manoeuvers at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments. These learnings will pave the way for subsequent flight tests with our MARS mission system. Based on the Kratos-built airframe, we’re equipping the Valkyrie with our own mission system that will serve as the uncrewed CCA’s “European brain”. Ensuring full control over software as well as mission applications, data and system hardware, MARS enables German and European Armed Forces to operate the Valkyrie with full operational sovereignty. The Valkyrie will also play a critical role in enhancing crewed combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter with extended range, firepower, and survivability. The aircraft design enables operational resilience through its rail launch capability, while offering conventional, runway based, take-off and landing as an option. Learn more: airbus.com/en/newsroom/press…