Cobham Aviation Services has received the first of 12 Airbus Military A330-200 aircraft at its Bournemouth facility for conversion into ‘Voyager’, the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

In recognition of this programme milestone, Cobham Aviation Services hosted an opening ceremony on Friday for its newly-refurbished A330 Conversion Centre at Bournemouth International Airport.

The first two Voyager aircraft underwent conversion at Airbus Military’s facility in Getafe, Spain.

The remaining 12 future Voyager aircraft, a variant of the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport, will be converted at the Bournemouth facility.

In all, the RAF will operate a fleet of 14 Voyagers by the second half of this decade to replace its existing fleets of TriStar and VC10 aerial refuelling aircraft.

Source and photo: MOD UK