Throughout the last few weeks, we've seen numerous airlines offer up their commercial aircraft towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. This ranges from Delta Air Lines flying medical volunteers for free to wet-lease operator Hi Fly ferrying supplies from Shanghai to Lisbon. However, the efforts aren't just limited to airlines. Even Airbus has dispatched its A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport). So it wasn't a complete surprise yesterday when we saw photos emerge of the German Air Force flying to Italy to assist in the effort... but in a slightly different way.

“In times of greatest need, it goes without saying that we stand by our friends...That is why we are now bringing seriously ill patients from Italy to Germany for treatment with our flying intensive care unit of the Air Force. It is an important sign of solidarity. Europe has to stick together." -Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, German Defense Minister

The Luftwaffe's contribution

The German Air Force flew an Airbus A310 to the Italian city of Bergamo yesterday. Aboard the aircraft were six Italian intensive care patients. Photos of the operation can be seen below:

The aircraft returned to Germany - flying to the city of Cologne in the west. The six patients from Italy will be treated at various hospitals in the region. The A310 involved is also classified as an MRTT. In this case it appears that it was configured to be a medevac facility.

According to Metro News, several German state governments are offering to take patients from Italy among other countries. Patients from eastern France were also airlifted to Germany via helicopter recently.

The Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac

The Luftwaffe's A310 looks like any other Airbus A310 from the outside. However, according to DW, it stands as the envy of NATO's medical airlift command. The Medevac is equipped with "top-of-the-line medical equipment".

This includes the six intensive care stations, each fully equipped with "the latest medical technology from computers and diagnostic systems to long-term respiratory machines and automatic injections". This equipment onboard allows highly-trained doctors and paramedics to do almost everything done in a hospital except operate. In addition to the six full-care stations, the plane can also accommodate 38 more patients with regular hospital beds.

DW adds that the MRT's configuration system is "based on a relatively simple click system built into an ordinary Airbus". From photos, we can see this in the form of tracks/grooves that beds can slide and lock into. This modular system allows the Air Force to be multi-functional, transporting either 214 passengers, 30 tons of cargo or 42 critically injured.

Conclusion

More than ever the world is united against a single, invisible enemy. It will take international cooperation and the sharing of resources, such as in this situation, to save as many lives as possible.

At the time of writing, both Germany and Italy are in the top five countries suffering from the pandemic. Germany has recorded nearly 60,000 cases of infection with almost 500 deaths. Italy is nearing 100,000 recorded infections and over 10,000 deaths.