# Who owns the RAF's planes? The aircraft the Ministry of Defence rents rather than owns

> The RAF's tankers belong to AirTanker under a £10.5bn private finance deal, and its basic fast-jet trainers to a joint venture of KBR and Elbit Systems.

- URL: https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/who-owns-the-raf-planes
- Published: 2026-11-08
- Author: Investigations Desk, The Brize Norton Files
- Topics: AirTanker & PFI, UK–Israel military links

## Key points

- The Voyager tankers are owned by AirTanker Ltd, not the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which pays for the capacity they provide.
- The Texan T1 trainers are owned by Affinity Flying Training Services, a joint venture of KBR and Elbit Systems, under a service contract from 2016.
- The Hunter jet ZZ190 is owned by a private company, Hawker Hunter Aviation, and is used under a contracted threat-simulation service.
- One commentator on a military aviation forum argued that the RAF cannot fit booms to Voyagers because it does not own them.

The Voyager tankers, Texan T1 trainers and Hunter ZZ190 are the only types still in service that the MoD does not own, according to an annotated Flightradar24 listing.

## Who owns each type in the RAF fleet?

| Aircraft | Registrations | Owner | How the RAF has it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voyager KC2/KC3 | ZZ330–ZZ338, ZZ343 | AirTanker Ltd, not the MoD | Private finance initiative contract signed in 2008; the MoD pays for capacity |
| A400M Atlas C1 | ZM400–ZM421 | MoD | Bought in 2003; the order was cut from 25 to 22 |
| C-17A Globemaster III | ZZ171–ZZ178 | MoD | First four leased in 2001, then bought |
| C-130J Hercules | not listed | Formerly MoD | Retired June 2023 |
| Typhoon FGR4 | not listed | MoD | TyTAN availability contract with BAE |
| RC-135W Rivet Joint | ZZ664–ZZ666 | MoD | US Foreign Military Sales; Airseeker (2010, about £650m for three) |
| Texan T1 | ZM323–ZM343 | Affinity Flying Training Services (KBR and Elbit Systems joint venture) | UK Military Flying Training System service contract (2016) |
| Hawker Hunter | ZZ190 | Hawker Hunter Aviation (private) | Contracted threat-simulation service |

Source: Flightradar24 listing, annotated.

## Why do the RAF's Voyagers belong to a private company?

The RAF does not buy its Voyagers outright. AirTanker provides them under a [private finance initiative (PFI)](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/airtanker-voyager-pfi-contract), in which a company pays for and runs a service the government needs, and the government pays it back over many years. Under this contract, industry invested about £2.7 billion, the deal runs to 2035, and a clause requires all UK military air-to-air refuelling to go through AirTanker.

AirTanker's consortium shareholders have included Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Thales and Babcock. The Public Accounts Committee said in 2010 that using PFI for the £10.5 billion Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) project "has not secured value for money". The fleet listing also notes that surge aircraft carry civil registrations and can be leased out commercially.

## What does private ownership mean for refuelling?

A King's College London report argues that, "as the RAF continues to modernise its capabilities and procure new aircraft types, more platforms require the flying boom method to refuel, meaning the Voyager is increasingly limited in what it can support." It says that "the primary obstacle to acquiring booms had been financial". The report also notes that the RAF depends on the US Air Force, which has a wider fleet of refuelling tankers. On ownership, one commentator on a military aviation forum observed: "The basic problem is that the RAF/MoD/HMG do not 'own' any of the Voyagers. Airtanker do. Therefore the RAF cannot just decide to fit booms to some of the Voyagers, because they aren't the RAF's property." The [boom problem](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/voyager-boom-problem-us-dependence) article gives more detail.

## Questions and answers

**Who owns the RAF's Voyager tankers?**

AirTanker Ltd, a private company partly owned by Airbus, owns them. The MoD pays for the capacity they provide under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract signed in 2008.

**Does the RAF own all of its aircraft?**

No. The A400M Atlas, C-17 and Typhoon are MoD-owned. The Voyagers, Texan T1 trainers and Hunter are privately owned and provided as a service.

**Why does ownership matter for refuelling?**

A commentator argued that the RAF cannot fit booms to Voyagers it does not own. A King's College London report says the Voyager is limited in what it can support, because more aircraft need the boom method.

## Sources

1. [Brize Norton protest dilemma](https://euro-sd.com/2025/06/major-news/45121/brize-norton-protest-dilemma/) — European Security & Defence, 2025-06
2. [Booms, probes & PFIs: future of UK air refuelling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=offISG_aZF4) — The High Ground, 2025-09-25
3. Public Accounts Committee (2010) — UK Parliament
4. Flightradar24 flight histories — Flightradar24
5. King's College London report — King's College London