Airbus CC-150 Polaris

A CC-150 Polaris 15004 refueling two CF-18 Hornets.

In 2008, two of the five CC-150s were converted to air-to-air refueling tankers with a new military mission avionics package[3] for the CF-18 fleet as part of the Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) program. The Polaris tankers are capable of ferrying a flight of four CF-18 Hornets non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, off-loading 80,000 pounds of fuel to receiving aircraft over a 2,500 Nautical Mile leg (4,630 km). The MRTT program was initiated because of a German Air Force requirement and provided a cost-effective solution for the Canadian Forces. The converted aircraft have been designated as the CC-150T. The tanker has hose-drogue pods under the wings.

The RCAF uses converted C-130s, RCAF designation CC-130H(T), for tactical air-to-air refueling but is limited when deploying CF-18s overseas which is better suited by a Strategic AAR Platform. As a result of the CC-150's MRTT conversion, Canada regained its own strategic air-to-air refuelling capability, which had been lost when the final tanker-configured CC-137s were retired in 1997.

The first converted CC-150T completed its acceptance trials in May 2008.[4]

The decision to outfit one of the five CC-150s as a VIP transport intended for use by the Prime Minister of Canada, made while Brian Mulroney held office, was politically controversial. The $56 million in upgrades were criticized as a needless extravagance during a time of government budgetary challenges by then-Leader of the Opposition Jean Chrétien, who labelled the aircraft a "flying Taj Mahal". Chrétien became Prime Minister soon thereafter and tried and failed to sell the aircraft; he would refuse to make use of the CC-150 during his ensuing 11 years in office. The interior was downgraded to a smaller, less lavish VIP cabin that is still in use today and the aircraft offers limited communications capability.[7]

Subsequent refits to and from use as a troop transport would result in much of the VIP amenities being downgraded. The CC-150 would return to use as official transport for the prime minister under Paul Martin in 2004.[8]

CC-150 Polaris No. 01 in 2014

In 2011 it emerged that since early 2009 the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had repeatedly requested that the CC-150 configured for VIP use be repainted from the gun-metal military paint scheme it shared with the other CC-150s to a specialized paint scheme. The Department of National Defence, including Minister Peter MacKay, had resisted this request, noting that it was contrary to its multi-role nature and would compromise the aircraft's potential to safely transport personnel into a combat zone. The decision was ultimately made to repaint the craft during its next scheduled maintenance around 2012.[9]

In 2013, the VIP-configured CC-150, aircraft #01, was repainted during scheduled heavy maintenance at a cost of $50,000. The new scheme, predominantly white with significant quantities of blue and smaller amounts of red, was criticized heavily by opposition politicians, who alleged the repainting was intended to give prominence to the then-governing Conservative Party of Canada's traditional blue colour.[10] Its call sign is known officially as CAN Force One.[11]

In recent years, various mechanical problems popped up. In March 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau's trip to India was delayed because of a mechanical issue during a refuelling stop in Rome. In October 2016 a flap issue forced the aircraft to return to Ottawa 30 minutes after takeoff while Trudeau was en route to Belgium to sign the Canada Europe free trade deal.

In December 2019, the CC-150 for VIP transport suffered significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling while it was towed by contracted personnel at CFB Trenton and rolled into the back wall of a hangar. The aircraft is anticipated to remain out of service until August 2020.[12]