The Royal Australian Air Force (ASY, Richmond, QL) is considering adding a further two A330-200s and converting them into KC-30B multi-role tankers, the Australian Defence Business Review has reported.

The Australian military is reportedly targeting two ex-Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) passenger widebodies. Its existing fleet of seven KC-30B tankers consists of five units purpose-built by Airbus and two which were converted from Qantas's passenger aircraft.

Qantas's A330-200s are powered by General Electric engines, which makes them compatible with the RAAF's existing KC-30B fleet. While Virgin Australia is reported to be also willing to offload some of its A330s, its aircraft are equipped with Rolls-Royce powerplants.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Qantas currently operates eighteen A330-200s which are 12.2-years-old on average. All of them are parked due to the network cuts forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian airline owns half of this subfleet, while the remaining nine are dry-leased from Avolon (four), DAE Capital (two), Macquarie AirFinance (one), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (one), and Zephyrus Aviation Capital (one).