Denmark to join Multinational MRTT Fleet

Denmark is to join the six partner countries in the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF), buying access to the capability's planned 10 Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transport aircraft. (NATO Support and Procurement Agency)

Denmark is to join the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF) to enhance national and NATO capabilities.

Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen announced the decision on 25 March, saying that joining Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway in the MMF is part of a wider defence enhancement package to be financed by the country's Acceleration Fund.

“It is a capability that will be able to strengthen the air defence of Denmark and the [wider] kingdom [that includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland] – and increase the combat power of the Danish defence, including our national operational needs. For example, the air-to-air refuelling capacity creates the conditions for operations with fighter jets in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. Furthermore, there is good potential for Nordic co-operation in this area,“ Poulsen said.

As noted by the Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD), the minister has recommended that Denmark become a partner in the MMF co-operation by initially purchasing flight hours for air refuelling. Furthermore, negotiations are initiated with the ambition of buying a share equivalent to two aerial refuelling aircraft. A possible Danish participation is estimated to amount to approximately DKK7.4 billion (USD1.07 billion) in the period 2025–33.

Based out of Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands, the MMF is operated by the MRTT Unit (MMU). The six current partner countries and Denmark will field 10 Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft, designated KC-30M in NATO service, by the time deliveries are completed in 2027.