Canada’s Matériel de défense – SMA (Defence Materiel) administration announced on July 14 that it has acquired two Airbus A330s from AirFinance Corporation for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) requirement.

The acquisition follows an announcement in April that the A330 MRTT had successfully qualified as a replacement for the RCAF’s Airbus A310 (CC-150 Polaris) aircraft, and that Boeing’s rival KC-46A Pegasus would not be considered for the requirement.

“The STTC programme looks to replace the RCAF CC-150 Polaris tanker fleet with a multirole aircraft capable of conducting a wide range of missions including NATO and NORAD operations, ranging from air-to-air refuelling to strategic government of Canada transport, and aeromedical evacuation,” Airbus said in an April statement.

The first two of a planned four A330 MRTTs were manufactured in 2015, and will retain their commercial cabin and underfloor cargo capability to initially conduct airlift and passenger missions. A further two new-build aircraft are expected to be contracted in 2023 and will undergo modification to MRTT standard, after which the first two A330s will undergo their modification. One of the aircraft is expected to feature a VIP interior and high-viz paint scheme for head-of-state/VIP missions.

The option to acquire used commercial aircraft has become a more attractive one in recent years with a large number of commercial aircraft still available due to some airlines not being able to increase their capacity following the pandemic. It follows Australia’s decision to acquire and modify two surplus Qantas/Jetstar A330s several years ago as its sixth and seventh KC-30A MRTTs, and Spain’s 2021 decision to similarly modify three surplus Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España A330s.

Canada will join Australia, the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, France, NATO, and Spain as MRTT operators, while the aircraft is also under consideration by India and Brazil.