Cobham has provided its world-leading air-to-air refuelling technology as part of the Voyager Programme
Cobham Mission Systems, Wimborne: On 30th September
2016 the AirTanker consortium, of which Cobham is a shareholder,
reached the final milestone in the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft
(FSTA) programme with the achievement of Full Service Date
(FSD).
The FSTA project, which is the largest private funded defence
project to date, includes a 27-year contract through to 2035 that
covers the delivery of aircraft as well as the associated
infrastructure, service and support. Cobham, which has
provided its air-to-air refuelling equipment for the aircraft, will
be maintaining these systems on the Wing and in the Fuselage of the
Voyager for the duration of the contract.
Alan Ephgrave, Vice President at Cobham Mission Systems in
Wimborne said "When we stand back and take stock of what has been
achieved it is truly magnificent. Working alongside our
colleagues within AirTanker Services Ltd to deliver such
outstanding capability to the RAF is ground-breaking and we are
very proud of the role played by Cobham in helping deliver
this."
Above, image of Voyager copyright © AirTanker -
Geoffrey Lee
The final aircraft, FSTA 14, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in July
2016, completing the aircraft delivery requirements of the FSTA
Contract. The fleet of nine core and five surge aircraft,
operate in both the military and civil leasing sectors.
Phill Blundell, CEO AirTanker Ltd, said: "Today is a landmark
date for everyone involved in the Voyager programme. Following the
contract award to AirTanker by the Ministry of Defence in 2008, the
whole AirTanker team has worked tirelessly together with our
industry partners and RAF colleagues to deliver this vital
capability. The fact that we have done so on time and on budget is
testament to that teamwork and commitment."
About Cobham and AirTanker
Cobham shares in AirTanker's success milestone having been
involved with the Voyager programme since its inception as both a
shareholder and air-to-air refuelling systems provider and
maintainer. The 14 aircraft which have been delivered are all
equipped with Cobham Mission Systems 905E wing aerial refuelling
pods. Five of the 14 aircraft are three-point capable tankers
which carry Mission Systems 805E fuselage refuelling units for
refuelling larger aircraft.
About Cobham Mission Systems
The most capable critical control solutions for extreme
environments.
As the world's leading supplier of critical control solutions,
we help our customers to increase the safety and mission
capabilities of their personnel and equipment in extreme
environments.
Our proven and trusted solutions in air-to-air refuelling, life
support and weapons carriage systems, deliver assured performance
and class-leading through-life costs that enable our customers to
bring complex projects to market quickly, and with minimal
risk.
About Cobham plc
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respected for providing solutions to the most challenging problems,
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