Bearing the weight of the world

The Airbus Military A400M Atlas

It may be running late, have had a rocky development, and is still encountering some problems, but the Airbus Military A400M Atlas is as close as it ever has been to entering service with Europe’s air forces.

With its origins back into large aircraft studies back in the 1980s, it has been a long path for the A400M, which was officially named ‘Atlas’ at the Royal International Air Tattoo on July 6, replacing the ‘Grizzly’ name used by the five developmental aircraft.