RAF's giant of skies to be 'christened' by defence chiefs 15.07.11
8The RAF's largest and newest aircraft - the A330 'Voyager' -- was officially christened on Friday. It was making its first official public appearance at RAF Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo - an event that every year keeps the capabilities and importance of air power in the minds of the nation. The Defence Secretary Liam Fox and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton attended the naming ceremony. Dr Fox said: "I am delighted to see the new Royal Air Force Voyager aircraft formally presented to the public. "This magnificent aircraft is the future for the RAF's air to air refuelling and passenger transport capability for the coming decades. "Voyager, together with the C-17, C-130J and the A400M transport aircraft will provide the RAF with a truly world class fleet of aircraft, underpinning the global reach that is vital to our operations." Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton said: "As we have seen in Afghanistan and Libya, an effective air to air refuelling and transport fleet is an essential force multiplier in this era of expeditionary warfare. "Voyager, when it enters service later this year, will excel in these roles by not only increasing our air-to-air refuelling capability but also by substantially improving our strategic airlift capacity. "Voyager is the airborne part of a flexible and cost effective whole-service contract which will enable the rapid movement of personnel around the world and provide unprecedented global reach to our combat aircraft. We can be justifiably proud of this magnificent addition to the RAF's fleet, it will serve our Armed Forces well for many years to come." Voyager has a wing span of more than 60 metres and is designed to carry a payload of up to 45 tonnes, which can include up to 111 tonnes of fuel, eight standard NATO freight pallets or 291 passengers. It is replacing the VC10 and Tristar aircraft and will operate from RAF Brize Norton. The A330 will be flown for air-to-air refuelling and air transport missions, but will also have an aeromedical capability, enabling it to carry up to 40 NATO stretchers and three critical care patients. The Voyager fleet is based on the A330-200 commercial passenger aircraft with twin-engines, a wide-body and twin-aisles produced by Air Tanker. AirTanker's contract with the Ministry of Defence will see them provide 14 purpose-built A330 tanker and transport aircraft, as well as the associated support services, including training, maintenance, infrastructure, flight operations and ground services. AirTanker has five shareholders who are also subcontractors for the programme. They are Babcock, Cobham, EADS, Rolls-Royce and Thales. The name Voyager, follows the heritage of a number of RAF tanker aircraft, with the names beginning with V, specifically the Victor and the VC-10 Tanker aircraft.