Airbus Defence and Space, part of the Europe-based global major Airbus aerospace group, announced on Monday that it had signed two major contracts with agencies of the French Ministry of Defence, for the enhancement and support of that country’s fleet of A330 multirole tanker transports (MRTT). The contracts have a total value of €1.2-billion. In French service, the A330 MRTT is known as the Phénix. The contracts are with the country’s Direction general de l’armement (DGA) and the Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé). The contract with the DGA covers an increase in the jamming-resistant communications capabilities of the aircraft as well as converting them into high bandwidth communications nodes with command-and-control capabilities; once converted, the aircraft will be designated as Phénix Standard 2. The contract with the DMAé will see Airbus provide in-service support for the French MRTT fleet for ten years, with an option to extend the contract by two further years.