The Royal Air Force will continue to retain responsibility for all military missions, whilst the contractor will own, manage and maintain the aircraft, and also provide training facilities and some personnel.

[4] The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 June 2007 that AirTanker had been given the approval it needed to continue with the project, allowing the company to seek the £2 billion private financing required to begin funding the aircraft.

On 27 March 2008, a PFI deal was agreed with AirTanker, worth £10.5 billion over the course of the contract, and will involve fourteen converted A330-200 aircraft, being delivered from 2011, and being operated until at least 2035.

[7] All aircraft will be equipped with a pair of wing-mounted aerial-refuelling pods, while only seven FSTAs will be fitted for centreline flight refuelling units (FRUs); each conversion will take about nine months.

[13][14] The first completed aircraft arrived at RAF Brize Norton in December 2011; after a prolonged certification process, it began training flights in April 2012.

[19] In March 2010, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a review of the scheme, which was unable to conclude that the Ministry of Defence achieved value for money.

Although the project to provide air-to-air refuelling and military transport aircraft has achieved its delivery milestones since contract signature, it is still likely to be delivered five and a half years later than planned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found that the aircraft specification did not feature the adequate protection required for flights into Afghanistan, and would therefore mean the Lockheed TriStar would continue to fulfil this role until 2016.

This had been caused by the FSTA scheme beginning prior to the commencement of military operations in Afghanistan, and a significant delay in any decision being made on including the required protection systems within the contract.