The extensively proven competence of EFW in aircraft conversion was decisive in landing a major order from a consortium consisting of Airbus and Lufthansa Technik to convert the A310-300 Multi-Role Transporter (MRT) into a Multi-Role Transport Tanker (MRTT) for the German Air Force. EFW had already converted the A310-300 Airbus to the MRT version in the late 1990s. With the roll-out of the world´s first strategic next generation tanker aircraft A310 MRTT in December 2003 in Dresden, a new and exciting chapter has opened in the history of EFW.
The tanker version significantly extends the functional range of this versatile aircraft: it is ideally suited for passenger and freight transport (also in a combined version), for patient transport and medical rescue flights - and after MRTT conversion also for air-to-air refeulling. The MRTT is equipped with the "Hose and Drogue" technology used for air-to-air refuelling by military aircraft. As the first Airbus with air-to-air refuelling capability, the A310 MRTT represents a significant milestone which puts an end to the US monopoly on the tanker market.
