Canada’s first CC-330 Husky tanker logs maiden flight

Airbus is expected to deliver the first of eight planned A330-based Multi-Role Tanker Transports in 2027.

Canada’s first aircraft from a new fleet of aerial refuellers has begun flight testing in Spain.

The Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) took off from Getafe on 2 July, where the European airframer converts standard A330 passenger jets into military tankers. The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) revealed the milestone flight on 7 July.

“The first flight is a key milestone in the production and allows teams to test the aircraft’s design and evaluate how it performs in the air, including its ability to operate safely,” Ottawa says.

“More testing lies ahead before the first aircraft joins the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fleet in 2027.”

Photos shared by the DND indicate the still-unpainted tanker has already been outfitted with both its centreline fuel transfer boom and two wing-mounted pods that will enable the hose-and-drogue refuelling method used by the RCAF’s Boeing F/A-18A Hornet fighters.

Each aircraft will be capable of carrying 111,000kg (244,700lb) of fuel and supporting a minimum of 6 RCAF fighter aircraft over the Atlantic in a single leg.

The RCAF has designated its new twinjet tanker-transport as the CC-330 Husky. A total of nine aircraft are planned, although only eight of these will be modified in the MRTT standard for aerial refuelling operations.

One CC-330 is already in service with the RCAF, configured as a VIP transport aircraft. That jet, designated CC-330, number 002, ferried Prime Minister Mark Carney to Ankara, Turkey, this week for the 2026 NATO leaders summit.

Informally known as “Can Force One” in a nod to the Air Force One VIP transports that carry the president of the United States, the VIP-configured CC-330 replaced one of the RCAF’s five CC-150 Polaris VIP transports, which were converted from Airbus A310s. Two of the CC-150s are configured for aerial refuelling.

Can Force One temporarily entered service in 2023, before going into storage for full conversion and a permanent service entry in 2024.

Of the planned CC-330 fleet, five jets were sourced secondhand from Kuwait Airways, while four are new-build A330s. Tail number 002 was one of the Kuwaiti aircraft.

The fleet of nine Huskies will be split between CFB Trenton in Ontario and Edmonton International airport in Alberta.

Airbus and Canada-based MAS, a subsidiary of L3Harris, are under contract to provide sustainment support to the CC-330 fleet, a deal collectively valued at C$1.5 billion ($1 billion).

The 2023 CC-330 production contract won by Airbus under the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability tender is worth some C$3.6 billion to the airframer.