Airbus A310 MRTT

what is it?

The Airbus A310 MRTT Multi-Role Tanker Transport is a military air-to-air refuelling, or in-flight refuelling tanker transport aircraft, capable of operating multi-role missions. The A310 MRTT tanker aircraft is a subsequent development from the earlier Airbus A310 MRT Multi-Role Transport, which was a military transport aircraft for passengers, cargo, and medical evacuation. The A310 MRT and A310 MRTT are both specialist military conversions of existing airframes of the civilian Airbus A310-300C wide-bodied passenger jet airliner.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 43.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 978 km/htop speed
• range 8,889 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 214passengers
• size 164 tmax take-off weight
• built 6made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 23 years ago, in 2003.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 43.9 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 27 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 8,889 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

2003-12

introduced

2004

status

still flying

number built

6

role

multi-role tanker/transport

makers

Airbus Commercial Aircraft

engines

2× General Electric CF6-80C2 or Pratt & Whitney PW4152

passengers

214

length

47.4 m

wingspan

43.9 m

height

15.8 m

max take-off weight

164 t

top speed

978 km/h

range

8,889 km

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.