UK confirms new Chinooks to get aerial refuelling equipment

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the RAF’s incoming Chinook H-47(ER) helicopters will be fitted with full air-to-air refuelling capability, but that current plans do not rely on RAF tankers to provide that support.

In a series of written parliamentary answers to James MacCleary MP, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the extended-range Chinook variant is being procured with an air-to-air refuelling receiver as standard. However, he stated that “on current plans, refuelling support will be provided by the U.S. KC-130.”

MacCleary had asked whether RAF A400M Atlas aircraft could be used to refuel the Chinook H-47(ER), and whether doing so would trigger compensation payments to the AirTanker Consortium, which operates the RAF’s Voyager A330 tanker fleet under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft contract.

Pollard clarified that the AirTanker contract does not explicitly exclude any particular receiver aircraft type, but is restricted to air-to-air refuelling for fixed-wing platforms. As a result, he said, “AAR for Rotary Wing aircraft is exempt from exclusivity claims.”

This means that using RAF aircraft to refuel helicopters would not, in itself, breach AirTanker exclusivity provisions. However, Pollard did not indicate that the RAF intends to adopt such an approach.

In response to a related question about the capability of RAF A330 Voyager aircraft to provide air-to-air refuelling to the Chinook H-47(ER), Pollard again pointed to the current plan to rely on US KC-130 aircraft. He did not provide a technical assessment of Voyager’s compatibility with the helicopter variant. Similarly, when asked about the A400M Atlas, Pollard did not detail whether the aircraft has been formally assessed for refuelling the H-47(ER), reiterating instead that US support remains the intended solution.

The answers confirm three key points: the new Chinook variant will have full receiver capability; rotary-wing refuelling falls outside the AirTanker exclusivity restrictions; and, under current planning assumptions, in-flight refuelling support will be provided by US KC-130 aircraft rather than RAF-operated tankers.