Airbus to pitch refueler at Aero India

European aerospace major, Airbus will show off a model of its A330 MRTT at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore next month.

Airbus has pitched the aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) competition for six mid-air refueling aircraft, in which it is likely to be competing with the Russian IL-78. This is the second time the IAF running this tender, after its selection of the MRTT was rejected last year because the Indian Finance Ministry considered the aircraft too expensive, especially considering that the IAF already flies the Russian aircraft.

Airbus is also hoping to win the United States Air Force (USAF) KC-X tender program for 179 refueling aircraft, in which it is competing with Boeing.

Airbus Military will also exhibit a model of its C295 twin-turboprop military transport aircraft, which it says is ‘able to carry up to nine tonnes of cargo, land on unprepared airstrips, and perform the widest range of missions ranging for anti-submarine warfare to maritime and border surveillance and any kind of humanitarian aid’.