Denmark and Sweden Join NATO’s A330 MRTT Pool in 12-Jet Fleet Expansion

Published:

June 25, 2025

Updated:

June 25, 2025

Denmark and Sweden Join NATO’s A330 MRTT Pool in 12-Jet Fleet Expansion

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Maeson L. Elleman

The Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) just secured two more Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports. The contract, signed on 24 June 2025 at the NATO Defence Industry Forum in The Hague, brings the pooled inventory from ten planned aircraft to twelve. Defense officials confirm that Denmark and Sweden joined the program the same day, making eight member states in total. The newcomers will fund and fly the extra jets under the established cost-sharing formula.

The MMF began in 2016 with six nations and nine aircraft. All nine are in service today at Eindhoven, Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany. A tenth jet – ordered in 2023 – should reach initial operating status in 2026 after conversion and certification. According to industry sources, the eleventh and twelfth frames will roll off the Airbus conversion line in 2028 and 2029, keeping the assembly line warm while the new MRTT+ variant ramps up.

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) placed the order on behalf of the member capitals. While financial details remain unpublished, program managers indicate a “high-hundreds-of-millions-euro” package that covers airframes, mission kits, and a sustainment bridge until 2035. Our analysis shows that pooling continues to save roughly 35 % compared with single-nation ownership when lifecycle costs are included.

Denmark’s entry carries a basing clause. A third operating site will open on Danish soil once the new jets arrive. That location will host two permanent aircraft and an engineering detachment, easing pressure on Eindhoven’s ramp and putting receivers in the High North within quicker reach. Sweden opted for “dry hours only” during its first two years, mirroring the path Norway followed when it joined. Stockholm plans to add its own mixed crew complements once national regulators finish type qualification.

Capability gaps, rather than mere fleet size, drove the latest purchase. NATO fighters now patrol longer legs over the Baltic and Arctic approaches, and stealth platforms burn more fuel when operating in contested airspace. Defense planners wanted enough tankers to fuel at least two continuous combat air patrol boxes and still hold reserve for strategic airlift or medical evacuation. The extra A330s close that gap without pulling U.S. KC-135s from other theaters.

Aircraft characteristics:

Fuel offload at 1,000 nmi: 50 t
Total internal fuel: 111 t
Maximum passengers: 300
Cargo payload: 45 t or eight military pallets
Dual refueling system: boom plus hose-and-drogue
Role change time: under eight hours from tanker to medevac

Extra basing needs extra infrastructure. Denmark’s Defence Estate Agency already approved funding for a dual-purpose hangar and a high-flow fuel hydrant. Cologne will receive a smaller avionics shop, adding boom automatic air-to-air refueling test gear. Eindhoven remains the primary mission-planning hub; software engineers there will integrate the new data-link suite slated for the 2028 build standard.

Airbus benefits as well. The Getafe conversion line stays booked, and line workers avoid a production dip before the re-engined MRTT+ enters low-rate assembly. Company executives note that the job order underwrites about 400 direct Spanish positions for three more years and pulls in avionics and structure work for suppliers across the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.

The tanker world keeps moving. Airbus is finishing automatic boom refueling upgrades, and Boeing’s KC-46A is clearing remote-vision milestones. NATO wants its next pair of jets to host the latest A3R system from delivery day. That requirement locks in a higher spec sheet than the first nine aircraft, but the fleet managers aimed for backward compatibility: the earlier jets will retrofit during scheduled depot events starting in 2029.

Training milestones ahead:

Convert 40 Danish pilots and boom operators by 2027
Qualify 20 Swedish maintenance technicians on Trent 700 engines
Stand up a mixed Nordic crew pool by 2029
Launch a common simulator syllabus on the Eindhoven device in 2026

Looking beyond 2030, planners see room for at least two more partner states. Finland has hinted at interest, though Helsinki still budgets for national tanker hours through charter contracts. Industry observers also note that Poland’s new defense plan calls for “pooled en-route refueling capacity,” a phrase that aligns with current MMF language.

Interoperability, not platform count, remains the core metric. The A330’s wide body can carry troops one day and fuel the next, yet common software, procedures, and spares give NATO flexibility that separate national fleets cannot match. When French Rafales, German Eurofighters, and U.S. F-35s plug into the same boom on the same sortie, allied commanders gain planning certainty and surge depth.

Expected delivery timeline:

2026: 10th aircraft (order 2023) reaches IOC
2028: 11th aircraft joins fleet, Danish base opens
2029: 12th aircraft delivered, Nordic crew pool declared combat ready

With two more A330s on the books, the alliance brings its organic refueling tally closer to projected demand for the early 2030s. Flight-hour sharing will still fluctuate with national budgets, but the core capacity now appears locked. As one senior logistics officer put it, “Twelve aircraft mean fewer trade-offs between fighter cover, strategic lift, and medevac.” The Defense-Aerospace editorial team’s assessment: the order is a pragmatic move that secures predictable tanker support for Europe’s shifting deterrence posture without overextending any single treasury.

Denmark and Sweden Join NATO’s A330 MRTT Pool in 12-Jet Fleet Expansion

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