Lufthansa Technik has been contracted to deliver a pair of new-build Airbus A321-200NXs to the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), where they will be used in a troop transport and medical evacuation (medevac) role.
The contract was signed between the company and Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) on July 8.
According to Lufthansa Technik, the first A321-200NX will arrive at its VIP & Special Mission Aircraft Services facility in Hamburg, Germany, in August 2021. The second will follow in October. Both aircraft are expected to be delivered to the German Air Force in 2022. When operational, the type will be employed by the service’s Special Air Mission Wing at Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne.
![A321-200NX [Lufthansa Technik]](/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/A321-200NX%20%5BLufthansa%20Technik%5D.jpg)
Prior to delivery, Lufthansa Technik will modify the aircraft so that they can be used in 18 different interior configurations. This includes transport capabilities that cater for between 136 to 163 passengers. The A321s will also be used as flying hospitals, configured to transport up to six intensive care patients or 12 moderately ill/injured passengers.
The company’s Original Equipment Innovation division will provide patient transport units (PTUs) for the two aircraft, of which 12 have been included in the acquisition contract, with an additional two to be used as spares.
Germany’s Defense Procurement Office added: “With the Airbus A321-200NX, the Luftwaffe will have a future-proof, modern passenger aircraft that can be used in various highly flexible cabin configurations, on short, medium and long-haul flights.
“The experience of recent years, and in particular the most recent experience with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has shown the need for full national access to these capacities,” it added.
