Italy buying six Airbus-made A330 MRRT tankers, a $1.6B value

MILAN — The Italian Ministry of Defense has awarded a contract to Airbus for the planned procurement of a fleet of six A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft, as part of a deal valued at €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion). 

The deal was announced in documents published today by the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) portal, the European Union’s public procurement platform. 

The notice states that the contract was concluded between the two parties on April 16 and will last roughly 10 years. No further information was provided regarding when first deliveries could be made.

These figures somewhat differ from an earlier report released this week by the Italian Directorate for Air Armaments and Airworthiness (Armaereo), which serves as the procurement branch for military aircraft and aviation equipment. That document outlined a multi-year procurement program for goods and services under the MoD.

Listed as a top priority, the A330 tanker fleet contract was said to have already been signed in February, with a duration of 96 months (eight years).

Rome initially announced its intention to acquire the Boeing-made KC-46 Pegasus tankers in 2022. However, by the summer of 2024, the procurement was abruptly halted due to “changed and unforeseen needs,” as reported by the Avionist at the time, prompting the Italian Air Force to evaluate other competitors.

An Airbus representative told Breaking Defense that the company will not comment on campaigns it has won or not. The Italian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment at the time of writing. 

The A330 has a range of up to 8,700 nautical miles (16,000 kilometres) and can carry a maximum payload of 45 tonnes (99,000 lbs), according to the manufacturer’s website. Once delivered, Italy would become the 19th nation to operate the tanker alongside a variety of NATO and non-NATO countries, including, in part, Australia, Canada, France, South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK, and the UAE.