Thales welcomes Voyager arrival at Farnborough

Defence Minister Philip Dunne met with the crew who had flown the Voyager from its base at RAF Brize Norton. Mr Dunne also met with employees from AirTanker Limited, who are providing Voyager as part of a 27 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract worth £10.5 billion.

AirTanker is a consortium made up of leading aerospace, defence and facilities management specialists, including Thales, Babcock, Cobham, Airbus Group and Rolls-Royce.

Thales is providing comprehensive support services throughout the life of the project including:

  • the delivery and management of a comprehensive training  programme including pilots, cabin crew, and maintenance staff
  • the provision of a Voyager-specific full-flight simulator at a training facility built by Thales  at RAF Brize Norton
  • maintenance and repairs for delivered systems, including documentation and certification maintenance

 

At almost 200ft long, the Voyager is the largest aircraft in the RAF’s fleet. More recently, the aircraft has been playing a key role in the operational airbridge that flies personnel and equipment between the UK and Afghanistan.

Voyager also provides an air-to-air refuelling capability following the recent retirement of the RAF’s Tristar and VC10 fleets. On an average flight across the Atlantic, the aircraft is able to refuel four fast jets whilst carrying up to five tonnes of passengers or freight.

Voyager is the largest aircraft the RAF has ever operated, and its greatest strength is its versatility. It has already proven its value by supporting operations in Afghanistan providing a modern, efficient, and dependable service that has been praised by the RAF and its passengers. Delivering the Voyager aircraft on time is a major achievement and an effective demonstration that MoD procurement is not only under control, but delivering timely and world-class results for the taxpayer, industry and the Armed Forces.” Philip Dunne MP, Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology 

Peter Hitchcock, Vice President Avionics, Thales UK says: “We’re proud to be part of the AirTanker Consortium and of our collective achievement of delivering this ambitious programme to time and budget.”

All articles