Defence

EADS has passed a major milestone in developing a company-funded air refuelling boom system (ARBS), with the design having undergone full deployment in flight for the first time last week.

Integrated with an EADS-owned Airbus A310 testbed, the fly-by-wire boom forms a key part of a Northrop Grumman-led proposal to develop a KC-30 variant of the A330-200 to meet the US Air Force's KC-X tanker requirement. The system will also equip five A330-based tanker-transports now on order for launch customer the Royal Australian Air Force. EADS says all flight-test objectives have been achieved during the modified A310's 12 sorties conducted to date, with the most recent flight including seven full extensions and retractions of the ARBS, and flutter tests.

"The pace and success of our boom development and test activities are on schedule to meet the requirements of the Northrop Grumman-led KC-30 team bid for the US Air Force [Boeing] KC-135 replacement competition," says EADS North America chief executive Ralph Crosby. Rival Boeing performed the first dry contacts with its boom-equipped KC-767A tanker - also a candidate for the KC-X programme - last month (Flight International, 30 January-5 February).