Going from strength to strength

The first Airbus A400M new generation airlifter for the German Air Force took another step towards delivery recently with the start of taxiing trials. The aircraft moved under its own power for the first time on the 12th October at the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Seville, Spain.

Driven by its four TP400 turboprop engines, assembled in Munich by MTU Aero Engines - a member of the Europrop International consortium, which manufactures the powerplants - the aircraft taxied forwards and in reverse and performed a series of tight turns. In the coming days it will carry out progressively faster trials before making its first flight.

Meanwhile, the Royal Malaysian Air Force's first Airbus A400M is rapidly taking shape. This aircraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2015, followed by two more, later in the year and the fourth and final aircraft in 2016. Last April, the Turkish Air Force accepted its first A400M. In terms of aircraft delivered to date, France has, at the time of writing received five A400Ms, and is earmarked to receive 50 airframes over the coming years.

Up, up and away

The A400M can carry heavy and outsize loads over intercontinental distances while retaining true tactical capability to use short and unprepared runways, and can also act as an air-to-air refueller.

The A400M programme involves Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey, the UK and Malaysia as customers and partner nations in its R&D and production. This necessitates a complex supply chain involving companies in Europe and globally too. It's this supply chain that now supports its production and is ramping up as customer air forces begin accepting deliveries.

The task of designing, developing and building the A400M has been a pan-European and worldwide affair. Airbus Military have parcelled out these tasks as work packages performed by local aerospace contractors with countries receiving a quantity of work proportional to their investment in the overall A400M programme.

Airbus Military expect to produce a total of 174 airframes for the European and Asian partner nations. Some suppliers are changing their working methods to accommodate increasing demand for their wares, and in some cases, grouping together to compete for work packages from Airbus Military to ensure they can meet the production demands.

The increase in A400M production will see ten airframes constructed this year, with a further 17 in 2015. A further circa 140 airframes will be constructed over the next decade to meet customer demands, and future export orders could yet mean production stretching beyond 2025.

The management of the A400M's supply chain is critical, not only to satisfy the needs of existing customers, but also to ensure the programme can accommodate increased production should the A400M win additional customers in the future. Despite the delays in producing the aircraft, the A400M is in a fortuitous position as the only strategic military freighter currently in production in the West.

The A400M's closest rival had been the Boeing C-17 Globemaster-III strategic turbofan freighter. However, Reuters News Agency reported in April that Boeing plans to end manufacture of the C-17 in mid-2015 following a decline in orders. This will leave the A400M as the only large, long-range military freighter, excluding the Russian Ilyushin Il-62 and Ukrainian Antonov AN-70 and AN-124 aircraft, but these airframes may arguably be unattractive to customers who can afford a Western design. Airbus Military is offering the aircraft to potential customers with delivery slots becoming available in 2016. It foresees an eventual market of up to 400 airframes in the coming years.

www.airbusmilitary.com