Sunday, November 3, 2019

Exercise Wallaby 2019 - Republic of Singapore Air Force Airbus A330-243 Multi Role Tanker Transport (A330-MRTT) ‘763’ Calls into Rockhampton Airport

A great afternoon at Rockhampton Airport on Sunday 3 November with the first time arrival into Central Queensland of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Airbus A330-243 Multi Role Tanker Transport (A330-MRTT) aircraft.  The A330-MRTT that was photographed arriving into Rocky wears the serial number '763' and arrived direct from Singapore’s Changi Airport / Changi Air Base (CAB) (East) as 'SAF8941' / "Singa 8941".






After landing on Runway 33 at Rockhampton Airport, the A330-MRTT then back-taxied all the way back down the Runway to exit at the end before it then taxied into Gate 6 on the Southern end of the parking apron.



At the time of writing, it appears that ‘763’ is being prepared for an overnight stay with a departure (presumably) back to Singapore some time on Monday 4 November.

Of interest, Singapore ordered six A330-MRTTs in 2014 for operations with the RSAF's 112 Squadron to replace their four venerable Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers which have operated with the Squadron for some 21 years.  Despite being some of the best presented military aircraft in the sky, some of the RSAF KC-135R aircraft are more than 50 years old.

https://www.facebook.com/TheRSAF/

The RSAF's 112 Squadron - whose motto is 'Determined To Deliver' - has four A330-MRTT aircraft currently in service with a further two more on order.  The RSAF A330-MRTT aircraft, like the RAAF's KC-30A's, can conduct air-to-air refuelling and airlift roles simultaneously. The RSAF A330-MRTT will help extend the range of their fighter aircraft and can be deployed to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

Also, with Exercise Wallaby 2019 all but concluded for another year, it is also expected that the third and final ‘wave’ of commercial heavy jet passenger charter flights in support of the Singapore Armed Forces Exercise Wallaby 2019 will also touch down into Rockhampton Airport during the early part of this coming week.

Be sure to stay tuned to the CQ Plane Spotting Blog for all the latest news and updates via our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/cqplanespotting/

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Scott H for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by Scott Harris  ©️

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