Airbus CC-150 Polaris
| CC-150 Polaris | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Royal Canadian Air Force Polaris taking off from Ottawa Airport | |
| Role | Strategic transport/VIP transport/tanker |
| Manufacturer | Airbus |
| Introduction | 1992 |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users |
Canadian Forces Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Number built | 5 |
| Developed from | Airbus A310 |
| Variants | Airbus A310 MRTT |
The Airbus CC-150 Polaris is the designation for the civilian Airbus A310-300s which have been converted for use as the primary long distance transport aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The fleet of five Airbus aircraft were originally purchased by Wardair as civilian airliners and were transferred to Canadian Airlines when the two airlines merged in 1989. They were subsequently purchased by the Canadian Forces from Canadian Airlines and converted for military use with the aircraft entering service between December 1992 and August 1993. Four of the five aircraft were converted to the Combi-Freighter standard with a reinforced floor and side opening cargo door. The fifth was modified as a VIP transport aircraft for government executive transport.
The CC-150 replaced the Boeing CC-137 (converted Boeing 707) as a strategic transport upon the retirement of the final transport-configured CC-137s in 1995.
In 2008, two of the five CC-150s were converted to air-to-air refueling tankers for the CF-18 fleet as part of the Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) program. The MRTT program was initiated because of a German Air Force requirement and provided a cost effective solution for the Canadian Forces. The converted aircraft have been designated as the CC-150T.
The RCAF uses converted C-130s, RCAF designation CC-130H(T), for tactical air-to-air refueling but is limited when deploying CF-18s overseas which is better suited by a Strategic AAR Platform. As a result of the CC-150s MRTT conversion, Canada regained its own strategic air-to-air refuelling capability, which had been lost when the final tanker-configured CC-137s were retired in 1997.
The first converted CC-150T completed its acceptance trials in May 2008.
The Polaris is classified as a strategic airlifter by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The CC-150 is able to carry cargo and personnel over long distances, but it lacks the oversize cargo capacity and ability to operate from austere locations which are a common requirement of military airlift. The Canadian Forces rely on other heavy lift cargo aircraft (such as the C-17 Globemaster) for these kinds of operations.
...
Wikipedia