On August 17, the German Air Force’s second A321LR (Long Range) left Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg facility for its new home at Cologne-Bonn Air Base.
Like its sister aircraft already in service with the tactical registration 15+10, the new 15+11 will now also be at the disposal of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) for troop transport and parliamentary flight operations on short, medium and long-haul routes. The respective capacity of each of the two aircraft in this configuration is 136 passengers.
The company reports that a small ceremony was held at its Hamburg base, as all personnel involved had already officially bid farewell to the aircraft in another ceremony held last Friday.
Not only Lufthansa Technik’s project team was invited to attend, but also, among others, the personnel involved from the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment (WTD 61) and the German Air Force, which had previously subjected the 15+11 to an intensive testing and acceptance program. With its completion, the first phase of the modification project is now finished.
Goodbye 15+11! See you again soon! Today the 2nd @Airbus #A321LR troop transport for @team_luftwaffe has left our base to enter service with @bundeswehrInfo. In 2023, 15+11 and sister ship 15+10 will visit us again for #MedEvac modification. https://t.co/2NY6Bg5FrZ #keepyouflying pic.twitter.com/8lcSf0Ials
— Lufthansa Technik (@LHTechnik) August 17, 2022
In the coming year, however, both A321LR planes will return to Lufthansa Technik to be modified and certified for MedEvac (Medical Evacuation) duties in the second phase of the project. This will expand the aircraft’s range of operations to include capabilities for the qualified air transport of wounded, injured and diseased passengers. In this context, three different configurations will be available to transport up to six intensive care patients or up to twelve mildly or moderately ill/injured patients. To this end, Lufthansa Technik will deliver a total of twelve units and two reserve units of the Patient Transport Unit New Generation (German: Patiententransporteinheit Neuer Generation, short: PTE NG) to the German armed forces.
The company was able to complete various preliminary work for the MedEvac mission, for example for the oxygen supply on board the two aircraft, already during the first phase of the project.
