On 30th September 2016, AirTanker reached the final establishment phase milestone in the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme with the achievement of Full Service Date (FSD) on time and on budget.

AirTanker is a consortium comprising Babcock, Cobham, Airbus Group, Rolls-Royce and Thales.

The FSTA programme has been delivered under the largest Private Finance Initiative of its kind in the Defence sector — a 27-year contract through to 2035 that covers the delivery of aircraft as well as associated infrastructure, service and support.

The FSD landmark is the culmination of an eight-year delivery phase which has seen AirTanker deliver 14 A330-200 aircraft, designated Voyager by the RAF.

The final aircraft, FSTA 14, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in July, 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.

The first aircraft completed its maiden flight in April 2012. In July this year, the programme reached the milestone of the 10,000th flight across the Voyager Force and the leasing community.