The A400M is often compared with the C17 when other suggest buying more C130J’s and C17’s instead of staying with the A400M but one cannot compare the A400M with the C17. The existing C130’s of all types are being heavily used in current operations and it is predicted that there is looming on the horizon a ‘crunch point’ where this accelerated fatigue/airframe life issue will result in significant shortfalls in capability. This is bad news for everyone, but especially bad news for the RAF that is hammering its current aircraft on operations, has experienced attrition losses in existing types and is relying on leased and/or ancient aircraft for some strategic lift. Where does this leave the UK?Īs it stands now, it’s going to be 2014/15 before the RAF takes delivery, it will likely cost more (even though we signed a fixed prices contract) as the alternative is to let Airbus Military go under and have a number of performance deviations from specification. The Alternative, from Canada, would have been an evolutionary design and although without EU involvement much less risk.Īnd for the icing on the cake, Airbus, failed to grasp just how complicated the programme was, having no experience in military aircraft. The new engine is particularly problematical as it is the most powerful of its type in the world and had to be started more or less from scratch.
To make matters worse the participants decided to start the aircraft programme and crucially a new engine and avionics in parallel. The French Senate report states that participating governments rushed into a poorly structured programme, left oversight to a multinational European agency (OCCAR) which had neither the resources nor the authority to fill such a role, ignored industry recommendations that €500-million risk-reduction studies first be carried out, and established tight timescales that left no margin for error. Indeed, it seems that Airbus is proposing an interim standard A400M that would be incapable of undertaking the more sophisticated flight modes planned, until the issues with the avionics have been resolved.
The Senate report states that there are serious development problems with the aircraft’s navigation and low-level-flight systems, digital engine controls, horizontal tail surfaces, and with the definition of the wing design.
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Once the extent of the delay to the A400M programme is confirmed, the MoD needs to decide whether it considers the programme to be so delayed that abandonment would be preferable, and to take timely decisions either to procure or lease other airlift assets so that a capability gap in air transport does not develop.ĭefence Select Committee – Defence Equipment 2009, Third ReportĪirbus’s flagship A400M military transport plane is facing a three-year delay, Le Figaro reported Tuesday, adding an estimated five billion Euros to its price tag. The A400M aircraft programme-to provide new tactical and strategic airlift-is running some two years late.
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Let’s be frank, the A400M military airlifter programme is in trouble, problems with the engines, flight control software and weight issues mean that it is going to be late, likely to cost more and not as good as expected.
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