The Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) is proud to announce a new Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR) clearance between the French A330 MRTT Phénix and the Slovak F-16 Block 70/72.
AAR clearances are essential for safe and effective multinational AAR operations. This clearance marks an important milestone, as the F-16 Block 70/72 had not previously been cleared to conduct AAR with an A330 MRTT.
From the outset, the MCCE supported Slovakia in driving the clearance process, connecting and coordinating the different stakeholders and facilitating the exchanges needed to bring the process to completion. This achievement demonstrates the added value of the MCCE AAR Cell as a facilitator and coordinator in the AAR clearance domain.
The operational value became clear only two weeks after the clearance was released. On 12 August 2026, France and Slovakia conducted their first AAR training missions under the new clearance, using dedicated French MRTT slots during a deployment to Poland. ATARES was used to facilitate the exchange of services, turning the new clearance into operational capability almost immediately.
This achievement directly supports two MCCE projects launched in March 2026 to strengthen AAR cooperation across Europe:
- Project DRIFT: Dynamic Refueling Initiative for Fighter Training provides recurrent AAR training opportunities to nations with limited or no tanker capacity and helps identify priority AAR clearances.
- Project CLEAR: Cooperative Leveraging for European Fighters AAR Clearances coordinates national efforts to establish clearances for new-generation tankers, particularly the KC-46 and KC-390, reducing duplication and optimizing resources.
Building on this success, the MCCE will support efforts to extend the F-16 Block 70/72 clearance to other European MRTT operators through a read-across clearance process, with the ambition to include other MCCE participating nations operating similar fighter aircraft. Bulgaria is the next priority.
