Airbus A400M
Encyclopedia
The Airbus A400M, also known as the Atlas, is a multi-national four-engine turboprop
military transport aircraft
. It was designed by Airbus Military
as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight
, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in Seville
, Spain
.
The A400M is undergoing flight testing. Orders totaled 174 aircraft from eight nations as of July 2011. Airbus Military is expected to deliver the first aircraft in early 2013.
, British Aerospace
(BAe), Lockheed
, and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
(MBB) to develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160
. Varying requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow progress. In 1989 Lockheed left the grouping and went on to develop an upgraded Hercules, the C-130J Super Hercules. With the addition of Alenia of Italy and CASA of Spain the FIMA group became Euroflag
.
The A400M is positioned as an intermediate size between the Lockheed C-130, and the Boeing C-17. Originally the SNECMA M138 turboprop (based on the M88 core
) was selected to power the A400M. Airbus Military issued a new request for proposal
(RFP) in April 2002, after which Pratt & Whitney Canada
with the PW180 and Europrop International
answered; the latter was a new design. Airbus Military preferred the PWC engine, but political interference resulted in the selection of the Europrop TP400-D6 in May 2003.
The partner nations – France
, Germany
, Italy
, Spain
, the United Kingdom
, Turkey
, Belgium
, and Luxembourg
– signed an agreement in May 2003 to buy 212 aircraft. These nations decided to charge the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) with the management of the acquisition of the A400M.
Following the withdrawal of Italy and revision of procurement totals the revised requirement was for 180 aircraft, with first flight in 2008 and first delivery in 2009. On 28 April 2005, South Africa
joined the partnership programme with the state-owned Denel Saab Aerostructures receiving a contract for fuselage components.
The A400M assembly at the Seville
plant of EADS Spain
started in the first quarter of 2007. Airbus plans to manufacture thirty aircraft per year. The major assemblies arrive by Airbus Beluga
transporters. The four Europrop TP400-D6 flight test engines were delivered in late February 2008 for the first A400M. Static structural testing of a A400M test airframe began on 12 March 2008 in Spain.
The first flight, originally scheduled for the first quarter of 2008, was postponed due to program delays, schedule adjustments and financial pressures. EADS announced in early January 2008 that continued development problems with the engines had resulted in a delay to the second quarter of 2008 before the first engine test flights on a C-130 testbed aircraft. The first flight of the aircraft, previously scheduled for July 2008, had again been postponed. Civil certification under European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) CS-25 will be followed later by certification for military purposes. The A400M was "rolled out" in Seville on 26 June 2008 at an event presided by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. On 12 January 2011, serial production of the A400M for its first customers started.
announced it would purchase eight A400Ms at a total cost of approximately €800 million, with the nation joining the Airbus Military team as an industrial partner. Deliveries were expected from 2010 to 2012.
In July 2005, the Chilean Air Force
signed a Memorandum of understanding
for three aircraft, but no order has been placed. In December 2005, the Royal Malaysian Air Force ordered four A400Ms to supplement its fleet of Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
Airbus Military made a bid in 2006 to supply Canada
with the A400M to meet a tender request for 17 new tactical airlifters
to replace their old C-130E models. The Canadians ordered four C-17 Globemaster III
s and 17 C-130J Super Hercules
instead.
In 2009 the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command requested information on the A400M and the company responded with a proposal for 118 A400Ms. In June 2010, EADS suggested a possibility that the Royal Australian Air Force
might consider buying the A400M.
announced that the first delivery has been postponed until at least 2012. EADS also indicated that it wanted to renegotiate "certain technical characteristics" of the aircraft. EADS has long maintained the first deliveries would begin three years after the A400M's first flight. The German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland
has closely followed the A400M program and reported on 12 January 2009 that the aircraft is overweight by 12 tons and may not be able to achieve a critical performance requirement, the ability to airlift 32 tons. Sources told FTD at the time that the aircraft could only lift 29 tons, which is insufficient to carry a modern armored infantry fighting vehicle (like the Puma
). The FTD report prompted the chief of the German Air Force to say, "That is a disastrous development," and could delay deliveries to the Luftwaffe until 2014. The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Luftwaffe is delayed at least until 2017. This leads the political planning to potential alternatives in the shape of a higher integration of European airlift capabilities. The OCCAR reminded the participating countries that they can terminate the contract before 31 March 2009.
On 29 March 2009, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders told Der Spiegel
magazine that the program may need to be abandoned without changes. Then on 3 April 2009 the South African Air Force
announced that it would start considering alternatives to the A400M due to postponed production and increased cost. On 5 November 2009, South Africa announced it was cancelling the order citing increased cost and delivery delays. On 12 June, The New York Times
reported that Germany and France have delayed the decision whether or not to cancel their orders for another six months, while the UK still plans to decide at the end of June. The NYT also quotes a report to the French Senate
from February 2009, according to which "the A400M is €5 billion over budget, 3 to 4 years behind schedule, [...] aerospace experts estimate it is also costing Airbus between €1 billion and €1.5 billion a year."
The shortage of military transports caused by the A400M delay forced the UK to lease, and subsequently purchase, six C-17s. France and Germany have also been considering other planes, as all three countries need to support their operations in Afghanistan. The ADS Group
has warned that shifting the British orders to American aircraft for the short term budget savings would cost much more over time in missed civil and military aerospace business, because they say that the technologies used in the A400M would be a bridge to the next generation of civilian aircraft. In June 2009, Lockheed Martin said that both United Kingdom and France had asked for technical details on the C-130J as an alternative to the A400M.
Airbus acknowledged in 2009 that the program is expected to lose at least €2.4 billion and cannot break even without sales outside NATO countries. A PricewaterhouseCoopers
audit of the program projected that it would run €11.2 billion over budget unless corrective measures were taken, which would result in an overrun of only €7.6 billion. On 24 July 2009, the seven European nations announced that they would continue with the A400M program, and form a joint procurement agency to renegotiate the contract with EADS. The ministers of the seven European launch customers were supposed to meet 15 October 2009 in Germany to approve a new timetable, configuration and financial terms for the A400M airlifter. On 14 October 2009, French Ministry of Defense spokesman Laurent Teisseire, announced this meeting had been postponed.
On 9 December 2009, the Financial Times
reported that Airbus has asked for an additional €5 billion subsidy to complete the project. On 5 January 2010, Airbus repeated that the A400M program may be scrapped, costing Airbus €5.7 billion unless €5.3 billion was added by partner governments. On 11 January 2010, Tom Enders, Airbus chief executive, stated that he was prepared to cancel production of the A400M if European governments did not provide more funding. Delays to the A400M project had already increased its budget by 25%.
On 5 November 2010, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey finalised the contract and agreed to lend Airbus Military €1.5 billion. The program is at least three years behind schedule. The deal, however, meant also that the UK reduced its order from 25 to 22 aircraft and Germany from 60 to 53, decreasing the total order from 180 to 170.
In July 2010, the A400M passed a key test: ultimate-load testing of the wing. On 28 October 2010, Airbus Military announced that it was about to start refuelling and air-drop tests. By late October 2010 the A400M had flown 672 hours of the 2,700 hours expected to reach certification. Cold weather testing is to be performed in either Canada or Sweden. In November 2010, the first paratroop jumps were performed from the A400M. In December 2010 the A400M fleet's flight time has risen to 965 hours. A400M number four joined the test fleet with its first flight of over five hours on 20 December 2010.
Winter tests were done in Kiruna
, Sweden during February 2011. By April 2011 a total of 1,400 flight hours over 450 flights had been achieved. In May 2011 the A400M's EPI TP400-D6 engine received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA). In May 2011, the A400M fleet had totaled 1,600 hours over 500 flights; by September 2011, the total increased to 2,100 hours and 684 flights.
Due to a problem with the gearbox the A400M did not fly demonstrations at the 2011 Paris Air Show
. It was shown on static display instead. By October 2011, the total flight hours had reached 2,380 over 784 flights. A minor problem that occurred during wet landing test led to reconstruction of landing gear parts. High altitude start and landing test has been preformed at La Paz
Bolivia.http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/bearing-up-airbus-militarys-grizzly-nears-civil-certification-363962/
The Airbus A400M will increase the airlift capacity and range compared with the aircraft it was originally set to replace, the older versions of the Hercules and Transall. Cargo capacity is expected to double over existing aircraft, both in payload and volume, and range is increased substantially as well. The cargo box is 17.71 m long excluding ramp, 4.00 m wide, and 3.85 m high. The height is 4.00 m aft of the wing and the ramp is 5.40 m long.
The A400M will operate in many configurations including cargo transport, troop transport, Medical evacuation, aerial refuelling, and electronic surveillance. The aircraft is intended for use on short, soft landing strips and for long-range, cargo transport flights.
It features a fly-by-wire
flight control system with sidestick controllers and flight envelope protection
. Like other Airbus aircraft, the A400M will have a full glass cockpit
(all information accessed through large colour screens) and as such will represent a technological leap compared to the older C-130s and C-160
s that many countries now operate.
The A400M's wings are primarily carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The eight-bladed Scimitar propeller
is also made from a woven composite material. The aircraft is powered by four Europrop TP400-D6 engines rated at 8,250 kW (11,000 hp) each. The TP400-D6 engine is to be the most powerful turboprop engine in the West to enter operational use. One of the few propeller powered aircraft with swept wings, the turboprops provide an efficient cruise speed of 780 km/h (480 mph) which falls between the C-130 and the jet-powered C-17.
The propellers on each wing of the A400M turn in opposite directions
, with the tips of the propellers advancing from above towards the midpoint between the two engines. This is in contrast to the overwhelming majority of multi-engine propeller driven aircraft where all propellers on the same wing turn in the same direction. The counter-rotation is achieved by the use of a gearbox fitted to two of the engines, and only the propeller turns the opposite direction; all four engines are identical and turn in the same direction which eliminates the need to have two different "handed" engines on stock for the same aircraft, which simplifies maintenance and supply costs. This configuration, dubbed DBE (Down Between Engines), allows the aircraft to produce more lift and lessens the torque
and prop wash on each wing. It also reduces yaw
in the event of an outboard engine failure.
EADS and Thales will provide the new Multi-Colour Infrared Alerting Sensor (MIRAS) missile warning sensor for the A400M.
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...
. It was designed by Airbus Military
Airbus Military
thumb|First [[Airbus A400M]] roll-out in [[Seville]] in June 2008Airbus Military is a business unit of Airbus, which is part of the EADS conglomerate...
as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight
Maiden flight
The maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. This is similar to a ship's maiden voyage....
, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
The A400M is undergoing flight testing. Orders totaled 174 aircraft from eight nations as of July 2011. Airbus Military is expected to deliver the first aircraft in early 2013.
Origins
The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by AérospatialeAérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
, British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
(BAe), Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
, and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm was a German aerospace company formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s. Among its best-known products was the MBB Bo 105 light twin helicopter...
(MBB) to develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160
Transall C-160
|-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2.-External links:*...
. Varying requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow progress. In 1989 Lockheed left the grouping and went on to develop an upgraded Hercules, the C-130J Super Hercules. With the addition of Alenia of Italy and CASA of Spain the FIMA group became Euroflag
Euroflag
Euroflag was a collaboration of European aerospace companies formed for the development of the Airbus A400M. Development is now carried out by Airbus Military....
.
The A400M is positioned as an intermediate size between the Lockheed C-130, and the Boeing C-17. Originally the SNECMA M138 turboprop (based on the M88 core
SNECMA M88
|-See also:-External links:* * Snecma M88's pdf* *...
) was selected to power the A400M. Airbus Military issued a new request for proposal
Request for Proposal
A request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
(RFP) in April 2002, after which Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada is a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney , itself a business unit of United Technologies...
with the PW180 and Europrop International
Europrop International
Europrop International GmbH is a joint venture among four European aero-engine manufacturers, MTU Aero Engines, Snecma, Rolls-Royce, and Industria de Turbo Propulsores...
answered; the latter was a new design. Airbus Military preferred the PWC engine, but political interference resulted in the selection of the Europrop TP400-D6 in May 2003.
The partner nations – France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
– signed an agreement in May 2003 to buy 212 aircraft. These nations decided to charge the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) with the management of the acquisition of the A400M.
Following the withdrawal of Italy and revision of procurement totals the revised requirement was for 180 aircraft, with first flight in 2008 and first delivery in 2009. On 28 April 2005, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
joined the partnership programme with the state-owned Denel Saab Aerostructures receiving a contract for fuselage components.
Into production
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
plant of EADS Spain
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA , was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer. It became EADS CASA the Spanish branch of EADS in 1999, but was absorbed by Airbus Military in 2009...
started in the first quarter of 2007. Airbus plans to manufacture thirty aircraft per year. The major assemblies arrive by Airbus Beluga
Airbus Beluga
-External links:*...
transporters. The four Europrop TP400-D6 flight test engines were delivered in late February 2008 for the first A400M. Static structural testing of a A400M test airframe began on 12 March 2008 in Spain.
The first flight, originally scheduled for the first quarter of 2008, was postponed due to program delays, schedule adjustments and financial pressures. EADS announced in early January 2008 that continued development problems with the engines had resulted in a delay to the second quarter of 2008 before the first engine test flights on a C-130 testbed aircraft. The first flight of the aircraft, previously scheduled for July 2008, had again been postponed. Civil certification under European Aviation Safety Agency
European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union with offices in Cologne, Germany, which has been given regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It was created on 15 July 2002, and it reached full functionality in 2008, taking over functions...
(EASA) CS-25 will be followed later by certification for military purposes. The A400M was "rolled out" in Seville on 26 June 2008 at an event presided by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. On 12 January 2011, serial production of the A400M for its first customers started.
Further sales
In December 2004, South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
announced it would purchase eight A400Ms at a total cost of approximately €800 million, with the nation joining the Airbus Military team as an industrial partner. Deliveries were expected from 2010 to 2012.
In July 2005, the Chilean Air Force
Chilean Air Force
The Chilean Air Force is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.-History:The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France...
signed a Memorandum of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
for three aircraft, but no order has been placed. In December 2005, the Royal Malaysian Air Force ordered four A400Ms to supplement its fleet of Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
Airbus Military made a bid in 2006 to supply Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with the A400M to meet a tender request for 17 new tactical airlifters
Airlift (military)
An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via aircraft.Airlifting consists of two distinct types, strategic and tactical airlifting...
to replace their old C-130E models. The Canadians ordered four C-17 Globemaster III
C-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
s and 17 C-130J Super Hercules
C-130J Super Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super" Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the venerable Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any...
instead.
In 2009 the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command requested information on the A400M and the company responded with a proposal for 118 A400Ms. In June 2010, EADS suggested a possibility that the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
might consider buying the A400M.
Development problems
On 9 January 2009, EADSEADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
announced that the first delivery has been postponed until at least 2012. EADS also indicated that it wanted to renegotiate "certain technical characteristics" of the aircraft. EADS has long maintained the first deliveries would begin three years after the A400M's first flight. The German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland
Financial Times Deutschland
The Financial Times Deutschland is a German language financial newspaper based in Hamburg, Germany, and is published by Gruner + Jahr. The newspaper contains four sections: Business, Politics & Economy, Finance, and Agenda .Founded in February 2000, the circulation grew to 103,000 readers in the...
has closely followed the A400M program and reported on 12 January 2009 that the aircraft is overweight by 12 tons and may not be able to achieve a critical performance requirement, the ability to airlift 32 tons. Sources told FTD at the time that the aircraft could only lift 29 tons, which is insufficient to carry a modern armored infantry fighting vehicle (like the Puma
Puma (IFV)
The Puma is a German infantry fighting vehicle, the mass production has started on the 6th July 2009. It will replace the aging Marder IFVs, from 2010 through 2020. Governing company is PSM Projekt System Management, a joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme. The Puma is...
). The FTD report prompted the chief of the German Air Force to say, "That is a disastrous development," and could delay deliveries to the Luftwaffe until 2014. The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Luftwaffe is delayed at least until 2017. This leads the political planning to potential alternatives in the shape of a higher integration of European airlift capabilities. The OCCAR reminded the participating countries that they can terminate the contract before 31 March 2009.
On 29 March 2009, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders told Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
magazine that the program may need to be abandoned without changes. Then on 3 April 2009 the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
announced that it would start considering alternatives to the A400M due to postponed production and increased cost. On 5 November 2009, South Africa announced it was cancelling the order citing increased cost and delivery delays. On 12 June, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that Germany and France have delayed the decision whether or not to cancel their orders for another six months, while the UK still plans to decide at the end of June. The NYT also quotes a report to the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
from February 2009, according to which "the A400M is €5 billion over budget, 3 to 4 years behind schedule, [...] aerospace experts estimate it is also costing Airbus between €1 billion and €1.5 billion a year."
The shortage of military transports caused by the A400M delay forced the UK to lease, and subsequently purchase, six C-17s. France and Germany have also been considering other planes, as all three countries need to support their operations in Afghanistan. The ADS Group
Society of British Aircraft Constructors
The Society of British Aerospace Companies, known as SBAC was the UK's national trade association representing companies supplying civil air transport, aerospace defence, homeland security and space...
has warned that shifting the British orders to American aircraft for the short term budget savings would cost much more over time in missed civil and military aerospace business, because they say that the technologies used in the A400M would be a bridge to the next generation of civilian aircraft. In June 2009, Lockheed Martin said that both United Kingdom and France had asked for technical details on the C-130J as an alternative to the A400M.
Airbus acknowledged in 2009 that the program is expected to lose at least €2.4 billion and cannot break even without sales outside NATO countries. A PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
audit of the program projected that it would run €11.2 billion over budget unless corrective measures were taken, which would result in an overrun of only €7.6 billion. On 24 July 2009, the seven European nations announced that they would continue with the A400M program, and form a joint procurement agency to renegotiate the contract with EADS. The ministers of the seven European launch customers were supposed to meet 15 October 2009 in Germany to approve a new timetable, configuration and financial terms for the A400M airlifter. On 14 October 2009, French Ministry of Defense spokesman Laurent Teisseire, announced this meeting had been postponed.
On 9 December 2009, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
reported that Airbus has asked for an additional €5 billion subsidy to complete the project. On 5 January 2010, Airbus repeated that the A400M program may be scrapped, costing Airbus €5.7 billion unless €5.3 billion was added by partner governments. On 11 January 2010, Tom Enders, Airbus chief executive, stated that he was prepared to cancel production of the A400M if European governments did not provide more funding. Delays to the A400M project had already increased its budget by 25%.
On 5 November 2010, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey finalised the contract and agreed to lend Airbus Military €1.5 billion. The program is at least three years behind schedule. The deal, however, meant also that the UK reduced its order from 25 to 22 aircraft and Germany from 60 to 53, decreasing the total order from 180 to 170.
Flight testing
Before the first flight, the company obtained the required hours of airborne test time on the engines using a C-130 testbed aircraft. The first flight of the C-130 testbed occurred on 17 December 2008. The A400M's maiden flight was carried out from Seville on 11 December 2009. The first A400M had flown 39 hours of test flights as of 9 March 2010. The second test aircraft's engines were tested on 18 March 2010 prior to it beginning test flights. The second A400M completed its first flight on 8 April 2010. The third A400M took to the air in July 2010. With this flight the three A400Ms have taken more than 100 flights, totaling 400 hours.In July 2010, the A400M passed a key test: ultimate-load testing of the wing. On 28 October 2010, Airbus Military announced that it was about to start refuelling and air-drop tests. By late October 2010 the A400M had flown 672 hours of the 2,700 hours expected to reach certification. Cold weather testing is to be performed in either Canada or Sweden. In November 2010, the first paratroop jumps were performed from the A400M. In December 2010 the A400M fleet's flight time has risen to 965 hours. A400M number four joined the test fleet with its first flight of over five hours on 20 December 2010.
Winter tests were done in Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
, Sweden during February 2011. By April 2011 a total of 1,400 flight hours over 450 flights had been achieved. In May 2011 the A400M's EPI TP400-D6 engine received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency
European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union with offices in Cologne, Germany, which has been given regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It was created on 15 July 2002, and it reached full functionality in 2008, taking over functions...
(EASA). In May 2011, the A400M fleet had totaled 1,600 hours over 500 flights; by September 2011, the total increased to 2,100 hours and 684 flights.
Due to a problem with the gearbox the A400M did not fly demonstrations at the 2011 Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
. It was shown on static display instead. By October 2011, the total flight hours had reached 2,380 over 784 flights. A minor problem that occurred during wet landing test led to reconstruction of landing gear parts. High altitude start and landing test has been preformed at La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
Bolivia.http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/bearing-up-airbus-militarys-grizzly-nears-civil-certification-363962/
Design
The A400M will operate in many configurations including cargo transport, troop transport, Medical evacuation, aerial refuelling, and electronic surveillance. The aircraft is intended for use on short, soft landing strips and for long-range, cargo transport flights.
It features a fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires , and flight control computers determine how to move the actuators at each control...
flight control system with sidestick controllers and flight envelope protection
Flight envelope protection
right|thumb| 327 px| [[China Airlines Flight 006]] damaged by going outside its [[flight envelope]] to gain control after a drop in twenty seconds of 3,000 m...
. Like other Airbus aircraft, the A400M will have a full glass cockpit
Glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, as opposed to the traditional style of analog dials and gauges...
(all information accessed through large colour screens) and as such will represent a technological leap compared to the older C-130s and C-160
Transall C-160
|-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2.-External links:*...
s that many countries now operate.
The A400M's wings are primarily carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The eight-bladed Scimitar propeller
Scimitar propeller
A scimitar propeller is shaped like a scimitar sword, with increasing sweep along the leading edge. Typically scimitar propellers are constructed of lightweight or composite materials. In the early 1900s they were made of laminated wood...
is also made from a woven composite material. The aircraft is powered by four Europrop TP400-D6 engines rated at 8,250 kW (11,000 hp) each. The TP400-D6 engine is to be the most powerful turboprop engine in the West to enter operational use. One of the few propeller powered aircraft with swept wings, the turboprops provide an efficient cruise speed of 780 km/h (480 mph) which falls between the C-130 and the jet-powered C-17.
The propellers on each wing of the A400M turn in opposite directions
Counter-rotating propellers
Counter-rotating propellers, found on twin- and multi-engine propeller-driven aircraft, spin in directions opposite one another.The propellers on both engines of most conventional twin-engined aircraft spin clockwise . Counter-rotating propellers generally spin clockwise on the left engine and...
, with the tips of the propellers advancing from above towards the midpoint between the two engines. This is in contrast to the overwhelming majority of multi-engine propeller driven aircraft where all propellers on the same wing turn in the same direction. The counter-rotation is achieved by the use of a gearbox fitted to two of the engines, and only the propeller turns the opposite direction; all four engines are identical and turn in the same direction which eliminates the need to have two different "handed" engines on stock for the same aircraft, which simplifies maintenance and supply costs. This configuration, dubbed DBE (Down Between Engines), allows the aircraft to produce more lift and lessens the torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
and prop wash on each wing. It also reduces yaw
Yaw
The word yaw can refer to:* Yaw angle, one of the Tait-Bryan angles, describing the heading of a vehicle or machine, and some other related elements:**Yaw system, component responsible for the orientation of a wind turbine towards the wind....
in the event of an outboard engine failure.
EADS and Thales will provide the new Multi-Colour Infrared Alerting Sensor (MIRAS) missile warning sensor for the A400M.
Orders
| Date | Country | Orders | Entry into service date |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 2003 | 53 | Unknown | Order reduced from 60 to 53, and will try to resell 13, leaving 40. | |
| 50 | Expected 2013 | |||
| 27 | Unknown | |||
| 22 | Unknown | Order reduced from 25 | ||
| 10 | Expected 2013 | A400M deliveries to be completed by 2018 | ||
| 7 | Expected 2018/20 | |||
| 1 | Unknown | |||
| 8 December 2005 | 4 | 2015 | ||
| Total: | 174 |
Specifications