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PARIS, Nov 19 - France will buy the new Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft from 2013, French air force chief Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros was quoted as saying Saturday by an aviation website.
But he added that the Telemos unmanned drone being developed by France and Britain would not enter service until 2020, Aviation International News (AIN) said.
Palomeros said France's missions during the NATO-led action in Libya had shown the need to replace its fleet of 14 Boeing KC-135s for in-flight refueling.
Paris planned to buy a similar number of Airbus multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft, beginning with five to seven in 2013 for speedy delivery, he said.
A second batch also would have the role of replacing France's A340 and A310 VIP and transport fleet.
The French defense ministry denied in September that it had fixed on the Airbus, and said that deliveries of a KC-135 replacement were not planned for earlier than 2017.
One option introduced was to lease A330s purchased by Britain under the two countries' 2010 military cooperation agreement.
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