Mammoth Journey

A400m Deliveries Start To Take Off

The development issues of the Airbus A400M have been well documented. Overruns in time and costs kept the aviation media and participating nations on the edge of their seats until the first aircraft was ultimately delivered to the French Armée de l’Air in August 2013. Less known is the fact that within months of the handover the A400M was not just in service, but was flying operational sorties into Mali.

Big and bold

Even as the A400M serves with the French and Turkish air forces, flight testing is still being conducted involving the air drop of paratroopers and deploying gravity loads off the rear ramp. There is even ground testing of loading a 28 tonne military vehicle. Bringing a new military transport aircraft to life is a mammoth task, particularly given the broad envelope of operations that the A400M sought to achieve. Seeking to uplift a greater payload than previous generations of tactical airlifters, it also sought to do sohigher and faster than other aircraft and still operate into unpaved airstrips. Its broad cross-section can house a Chinook or two attack helicopters, two armoured vehicles or up to 116 paratroops. With a 20 tonne payload, the A400M possesses a range of over 6,400km travelling at 40,000ft and Mach 0. 72. Those figures are more closely related to jet transports than traditional turbo-prop airlifters. The aeroplane’s ability to operate into unpaved strips has already been demonstrated by carrying a 25 tonne payload into 750m grass/sand soft unpaved airstrips. This capability is one area where Airbus Defence & Space highlights the advantage of the A400M with some real-life experience to support the claim. In recent operations into Mali, alternative airlifters such as the An‑124 were required to fly their payload 2,200nm into Bamako, followed by a 900km ground convoy. The A400M was able to depart France and fly directly to forward airfields in Mali and deliver their payload and people directly. It saved both time and the exposure of a road convoy.