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https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... vy-445386/Germany has confirmed that its future fleet of heavy-lift helicopters will require in-flight refuelling capability.
A request for proposals should be issued in May, with a selection expected in 2019, Col Bernhard Martin told the Defence IQ International Military Helicopter conference in London on 31 January.
Martin, who is the air force's deputy assistant chief of staff for capability management, confirms a fleet-wide requirement for aerial refuelling on the new rotorcraft.
In the long term, in-flight refuelling will be performed using the Airbus Defence & Space A400M,
but Germany has recently indicated that it intends to also acquire
three Lockheed Martin KC-130J tankers, as part of a shared fleet with France.
Martin says the German air force's current CH-53 inventory "will reach the end of its life by about 2025".
our current flying hours already show a substantial shortfall,"
Martin says, adding that only around 6,000h was being achieved per year across the fleet,
against a target of more than 10,000h.
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