Lufthansa Technik has delivered the third upgraded Airbus A350-900 aircraft to the German Air Force as part of the service’s Special Air Mission Wing fleet expansion.
Designated “Kurt Schumacher,” the vehicle was ordered by Berlin to support long-haul transport missions for federal officials as well as other political-parliamentary flights.
Capabilities fitted into the system include a full executive-structured cabin, spacious seating, modern galley equipment, and additional spaces for delegation passengers.
Special Air Mission Wing Upgrade
The German Ministry of Defense approved the procurement of three Airbus A350s in 2019 to replace the Special Air Mission Wing’s two A340s in service since the 2010s.
Investment in the effort amounted to around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
The first aircraft, “Konrad Adenauer,” was delivered to the country in 2022. It was followed by the handover of the second plane “Theodor Heuss” in 2023.
The Kurt Schumacher serves as the final A350 under the initiative.
“The largest modernization programme in the history of the Special Air Mission Wing can justifiably be called a Herculean task,” Lufthansa Technik CEO Soeren Stark remarked during the Schumacher’s arrival.
“Four cabin refurbishments for a total of three wide-body jets over a period of just four years, and some of them were still heavily influenced by the pandemic.”
“I am all the more proud of our team, which mastered this task with flying colors, and completely within the estimated cost and time frame. I take my hat off to this achievement and thank everyone who was involved.”
Airbus A350
The Airbus A350-900 has a length of 66.8 meters (219 feet) and a fuselage width of 5.9 meters (19.5 feet).
Its standard version can accommodate up to 440 passengers, 223 cubic meters (223,000 liters) of water volume, and about 166,488 liters of fuel.
The vehicle is powered by a Rolls-Royce Trent XWB high-bypass turbofan for a range of over 15,372 kilometers (9,551 miles) and a speed of up to 945 kilometers (587 miles) per hour.
