EADS and Airbus welcome the conclusion of negotiations with OCCAR and the seven A400M launch customer nations. The agreement, finalised today in Toulouse in the presence of the French Defence Minister Hervé Morin, the national armament directors and other representatives from all customer nations, is the long awaited further detailing of the principle agreement reached in March 2010.
While the overall economics of the March agreement remain unchanged, the government payments are now more back-loaded than previously expected. Negotiations on the export levy facility (ELF) scheme are expected to be finalized before the end of the year.
“The A400M flight test programme is making excellent progress and demonstrates the soundness of the product. We are very proud of the achievements so far and are now moving towards the series production by the end of the year”, said Domingo Ureña, Managing Director of Airbus Military.
Background Information
The A400M is an all-new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world’s Armed Forces in the 21st Century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high maneuverability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions, while being also able to be used as a tanker plane.
With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed. Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with a great survivability, the multipurpose A400M can do the job of three of today’s different aircraft models in a single one. This means smaller fleets and less investment from the operator.
Able to do more with less, the A400M is the most cost efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities. The A400M launch customer nations include Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Spain, Turkey and the UK.
