A ceremony was held at Galeão Air Base, Rio de Janeiro, on July 26 to formally induct the first Airbus A330-243 into Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB, Brazilian Air Force) service.
The aircraft – serial FAB 2901 (c/n 1492, ex PR-AIS) – is one of two that were acquired and underwent initial preparation with Joramco in Amman, Jordan. It was then flown to Dublin, Ireland, where it was resprayed in FAB colours before leaving for Victorville, California, on July 13. Following a contractual hand-over there, it departed on July 24 for Brazil, initially landing at Campinas, São Paulo, on July 25 before arriving at Galeão on July 26.
Both aircraft will be operated by the Segundo Esquadrão do Segundo Grupo de Transporte (Second Squadron of the Second Transport Group, 2º/2º GT) – Esquadrão Corsário, based in Rio de Janeiro. The second airframe (also an A330-243) – FAB 2902 (c/n 1508, ex VP-BDV) – is currently undergoing similar pre-delivery maintenance work with Joramco in Jordan. Both will be converted to multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) configuration by Airbus Defence and Space. A contract for the MRTT modifications is expected to be concluded later this year.
