The Airbus A400M Atlas is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military
The Airbus A400M Atlas is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed Martin C-130 A400M can perform mission roles other than transportation, including electronic surveillance and aerial refuelling. The A400M's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 from Seville, Spain. Between 2009-2010, the A400M faced cancellation as a result of development program delays and cost overruns; however, the customer nations chose to maintain their support of the project. A total of 174 A400M aircraft have been ordered by eight nations as of July 2011. In March 2013, the A400M received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification. The first aircraft was delivered to the French Air Force in August 2013. The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by Aérospatiale, 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 in 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. In May 2003, Airbus Military selected the Europrop TP400-D6, reportedly due to political interference over the PW180 engine. First flight 11 Dec 2009
Size: 5550px × 3679px
Location: Farnborough, Hants, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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