French Air Force sells its last KC-135s to Metrea, which becomes the largest commercial air refueling company.
On July 11, 2024, it was announced that the French Air Force had sold the last of their KC-135 Stratotanker fleet to commercial air refueling operator Metrea, raising their fleet of the type from four to eighteen aircraft. “Metrea has agreed to acquire all fourteen of the FASF C-135 tankers, including both the KC-/C-135FR and KC-/C-135RG variants,” says the official public release.
The first eleven KC-135FR jets were delivered to the company in June.
Metrea’s original four KC-135s were purchased from the Republic of Singapore Air Force in 2020. Those four were also retired to make room for the newer A330 MRTT.
Modernizing the Fleet
The sale comes as the Armée de l’air et de l’espace is in the process of retiring their aging Stratotankers to replace them with brand-new Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) jets. France has operated a mixed fleet of C-135FR, KC-135RG, and KC-135FR tankers since 1964. The type began divestment in 2022 with the C-135FR being the first to go.
The first French A330 MRTT aircraft, known as the “Phénix” in French service, was delivered to the service in 2018. Fourteen total aircraft have been ordered with deliveries expected to wrap up in the next couple years. Interestingly, France is also looking to give their new airplanes a command and control (C2) mission set with the goal of staying “connected in all circumstances, including jammed environments and extreme weather conditions”. In the press release, Airbus states, “These new capabilities will convert the French A330 MRTT into a high bandwidth communication relay node, with command and control capabilities, and will build the stepping stone of the A330 MRTT’s integration into the future air combat cloud within the FCAS (Future Combat Air System)”. FCAS is Europe’s “system of systems” that will allow different types including tankers, fighters, and others to work together and share information in a contested environment.
Also reported by The Aviationist on the A330 MRTT was the testing of automated refueling, potentially turning the boom operator into a “monitor” instead of an “operator”. The original tests were in 2020 using an A310 MRTT and a Portuguese F-16 Fighting Falcon. The latest tests were conducted between a Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG and A330 MRTT in 2023.
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France is one of a number of nations operating the type, including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and several others around the globe.
Commercial Air Refueling
Metrea has enjoyed success recently while flying in-flight refueling missions for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Last year, in 2023, they hit several milestones including refueling two U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon sub hunters, refueling a USAF E-3 Sentry and RC-135 Rivet Joint (the first time the USAF ever used a civilian tanker), and refueling a flight of A-10s during an exercise.
Metrea, formerly known as Meta Aerospace, is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a presence elsewhere in the United States as well as Great Britain, across the European Union, and in Singapore.
Metrea is not alone in the industry, however, as competitor Omega (flying KDC-10 and KC-707 tankers) has also been working with the Department of Defense.
Commercial air refueling has become extremely important to the Department of Defense as it retires its fleet of KC-10A Extenders (the last of which expected to be gone by the end of September, 2024) and slims down its fleet of KC-135R/T Stratotankers in favor of the newer, larger KC-46A Pegasus. The U.S. Air Force has retired its tankers faster than they’re being replaced and is now using commercial operators for both exercises and fighter drags.
In the coming months and years after the retirement of the KC-10, it’s hard to imagine Metrea and Omega won’t stay busy.
