16 JUNE/JULY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com
in serViCe sUpport
Multi-role
tanker
uK's combat-close ppps:
capability
G
iven that Canada's CF-18s
will be replaced by new fight-
er aircraft, that the multi-role
tanker capability is aging and
the fleet will go through the
Life Extension in the next decade or so, it
is timely that a serious discussion on this
latter capability should take place.
In this article, I want to expand on what
I previously wrote in the April/May 2017
issue of this magazine on the UK's PPP
(Public Private Partnership) capabilities
and, in particular, on their multi-role tank-
er capability. In that article I wrote, "The
United Kingdom stands apart in that it has
been experimenting with a non-traditional
capability development and equipment
sustainment strategy. … Instead of out-
sourcing sustainment of capability equip-
ment, British forces outsourced whole
capabilities, personnel and equipment
combined using long-term contracts. The
private parties running these capabili-
ties are consortia typically including the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Compared to traditional outsourced sus-
tainment where equipment is just plug-
and-play equipment, UK's PPPs are plug-
and-play capabilities with sustainment
bundled up with personnel." This article
takes a closer look at the Voyager program
where the AirTanker consortium provides
Royal Air Force (RAF) with strategic air
transport, air-to-air refueling capabilities
and VIP transport.
An RAF Voyager tanker aircra taking off from Nellis Air Force Base in
Nevada during Exercise Red Flag. Photo: MoD/Crown
bY UGURhAN G. bERKoK
