During the recent visit of an OCCAR delegation to the EATC in December 2012, the Commander EATC, Major General Pascal Valentin, was invited to visit OCCAR and Airbus Industry in Toulouse in return.
This week an EATC delegation got introduced into the current status of the A400M program, where Airbus provided actual and detailed information about the project status.
One important news: It is already foreseen that the first A400M will be delivered to France in the next few months as soon as the final certification is reached. After that, Airbus will continue to work on the system upgrades, e.g. tactical capabilities, tanker capabilities and low level flight.
Currently, Airbus spends 6 - 8 flight hours per day to reach this goal as soon as possible.
Up to now, 8 countries ordered the A400M with a total of 174 aircraft. Among them are the EATC Participating Nations Belgium, France, Germany and Luxemburg.
The first flight of the A400M was realised in December 2009. Since then, more than 1.500 test flights with a total of 4.500 flying hours were conducted.
Until 2024, Airbus wants to deliver all ordered A400M aircraft to the nations.
The EATC plays a key role in harmonizing the common standards between the EATC Participating Nations. Moreover, the EATC has also a major interest in the ongoing status of the A400M project, because it is deeply involved in A400M training matters. Major General Valentin and his delegation will continue the visit tomorrow with a detailed view into the capabilities of the A400M.
Read here more about the EATC involvement in A400M training matters.
Text: Martin Gesenhoff
Picture by Airbus Military