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Three European nations plan are to pool their resources and purchase Airbus A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft starting in 2019.
The Netherlands, Poland and Norway are preparing to open negotiations with Airbus for a fleet of new aircraft, the European Defence Agency (EDA)

The three nations have agreed to create a NATO Support Agency partnership to run the program and has tasked OCCAR, the European collaborative defense equipment management organization, to open negotiations with Airbus.
A spokesman said they hope negotiations will be finalized with Airbus in 2016.
Industry executives said the three nations have given themselves a "very challenging" timeline to move from completion of negotiations to the start of operations, probably initially in the transport role.

The new European fleet will be equipped with a rigid boom as well as underwing refueling pods.

A minimum of four airframes are expected to be purchased, although the final number depends on the cost of the airframes and whether other European nations opt to join the program.

The EDA spokesman said the assumption is the pooled aircraft will be based at the Dutch Air Force base at Eindhoven, where other European airlift operations are sited

http://www.defensenews.com/story/def...rbus/20636345/