Airbus delivers A400M to Luxembourg’s Armed Forces

Luxembourg’s A400M during its ferry flight.  Photo Airbus

                                              The Luxembourg Armed Forces have taken delivery of its Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, which was accepted at the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville (Spain) and has performed a ferry flight. It will make a first stop in Luxembourg before continuing its journey to the 15th Wing Air Transport in Melsbroek (Belgium), where the joint airlift unit between Belgium and Luxembourg will be based. With this delivery, Luxembourg becomes the seventh A400M operator.

 

The aircraft, known as MSN104, will be operated by the Luxembourg Armed Forces and Belgium within a binational unit, together with the seven A400M ordered by Belgium, which is due to receive its first aircraft in the coming weeks.

 

Alberto Gutierrez, Head of Military Aircraft at Airbus Defence and Space, said: “I welcome Luxembourg to the growing A400M user community. With 94 aircraft in service, the A400M is increasingly becoming the air mobility backbone of our customers, both in civil and military environments, as seen in recent COVID-19 crisis missions around the globe.” 

 

Royal Air Force A400M showcased in Kazakhstan

During a recent visit, which promoted the bilateral military co-operation between the UK and Kazakhstan, the capability of the RAF A400M was showcased to the Kazakh Government.

After landing in Nur-Sultan, representatives from the RAF explained their operational experience and the aircraft’s capabilities to the Kazakh Prime Minister, Askar Mamin; Minister of Defense, Nurlan Yermekbayev; Minister of Emergency Situations, Yuri Ilyin; Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development, Beibut Atamkulov; Vice Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development, Talgat Zhanzhumenov.

With the ability to carry a 37-tonne payload over 2,000 miles, the A400M provides the RAF with tactical airlift and strategic oversize lift capabilities. The Kazakh Government are currently considering purchasing an aircraft to meet their requirements for strategic airlift.

An RAF A400 has been showcased during a visit to Kazakhstan.
 Photo Defence Section British Embassy Nur-Sultan.

As part of the demonstration, the A400M was loaded with an Arlan Armoured vehicle and Airbus Test pilots showcased the aircraft’s technical capabilities to Kazakh Air Defense Force Officers.

RAF use A400M over the English Channel to support Border Force

On Monday 10th August 2020, the Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, approved the use of a Royal Air Force A400M to support the Home Office and UK Border Force in their operations in the Channel.

The aircraft will provide surveillance and intelligence, feeding information directly to the UK Coastguard and Border Force, which will facilitate the quicker interception of boats. The Border Force will then be able to take the appropriate action that best fits the situation, whilst also complying with Maritime law.

The deployment of the A400M Atlas, permits surveillance to be carried out with a greater field of vision over a wider area. It therefore represented the most effective use of available resources. This constitutes the MOD’s initial offer of support to the Home Office, and further work is being carried out to determine who the MOD can further assist in the Channel.

This is the first time that a military aircraft has flown in support of the Border Force, but the Royal Navy has previously offered support, most notably in January 2019.

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Crucial supplies of personal protective equipment delivered into RAF Brize Norton

Turkish Air Force  Airbus A400M  Photo RAF

Crucial supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical staff have been delivered into a Royal Air Force base for distribution around the country.

Following an agreement between the UK and Turkey, 250,000 items of PPE equipment to the UK, including 50,000 N-95 face masks; 100,000 surgical masks; and 100,000 protective suits, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday.

The supplies will be taken to a regional NHS distribution hub to be delivered to medical centres across the country.

RAF bases have been a vital resource during the coronavirus pandemic, with military and chartered civilian flights utilising them to deliver resources and repatriate Britons stranded across the globe.

"The delivery of this vital equipment will bring protection and relief to thousands of critical workers across the UK, as they bravely and tirelessly work to keep us safe. It is also a tribute to the strong bilateral ties with our ally Turkey, and I am immensely grateful for their kind gesture. As NATO Allies we can always depend on each other, whatever the threats we face.”          Defence Secretary     Ben Wallace

The UK's RAF uses an Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft to the Orkney Islands for urgent medical evacuation

A critically ill patient has been evacuated from the Orkney Islands by the Royal Air Force.

Photo RAF / Crown Copyright

The 46-year old patient was flown from Kirkwall to Glasgow on Saturday by an Atlas (A400M) transport aircraft carrying a critical care team. The incident was not related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The emergency flight was scrambled from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on Saturday morning when the critically sick patient’s condition deteriorated further. He was flown from Kirkwall to Glasgow and transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city.

A RAF spokesperson told us “The NHS called on the Royal Air Force when the patient’s condition started to deteriorate and became life-threatening. He needed more specialist care. Using the Atlas (A400M) rather allowed a medical team to treat the patient during the 40-minute flight.”

A critically ill patient has been evacuated from the Orkney Islands by the Royal Air Force.

Photo RAF / Crown Copyright

A critically ill patient has been evacuated from the Orkney Islands by the Royal Air Force.

The 46-year old patient was flown today from Kirkwall to Glasgow by an Atlas (A400M) transport aircraft carrying a critical care team. The incident was not related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The emergency flight was scrambled from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on Saturday morning when the critically sick patient’s condition deteriorated further. He was flown from Kirkwall to Glasgow and transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city.

A RAF spokesperson told us “The NHS called on the Royal Air Force when the patient’s condition started to deteriorate and became life-threatening. He needed more specialist care. Using the Atlas (A400M) rather allowed a medical team to treat the patient during the 40-minute flight.”

Airbus A400M transports masks to Spain in support of COVID-19 crisis efforts

An Airbus A400M airlifter has performed an air-bridge between Toulouse and Madrid in order to deliver critically-needed mask supplies to the Spanish health system.

The aircraft, known as MSN56 and operated by an Airbus crew, took off from Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse at 18.07 local time (CET) landing at the Getafe Air Base (Madrid) at 19.05 to off-load and deliver the masks to the Spanish Ministry of Defence.

The cargo is part of the approximately 2 million masks transported over the weekend by a test Airbus A330-800 aircraft from Tianjin, China, to Europe.

This air-bridge will enable the delivery of a significant supply of masks to the Spanish public health network in support of current COVID-19 crisis efforts. This comes on top of donations by Airbus in recent days to provide thousands of masks to hospitals and public services around Europe. The Company will continue to support with additional flights planned to take place in the coming days in coordination with national authorities.

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Airbus A400M completes paratrooper simultaneous dispatch

                                             The Airbus A400M new generation airlifter has completed the certification flight test for the simultaneous dispatch of 80 (40+40) equipped paratroopers from both side doors on a single pass. Tests were performed in coordination with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) together with French and Belgian Armed Forces.

The flight test campaign, performed in the Ger Azet drop zone in southern France during daylight, also successfully completed the certification flight test to support the deployment of 58 paratroopers from one side door, the A400M’s maximum dispatch capacity from a single door.

Airbus A400M performs first helicopter air-to-air dry contacts

The photo above shows the A400M performing dry contacts with an H225M operated by Airbus Helicopters.

The Airbus A400M new generation airlifter has successfully achieved its first helicopter air-to-air refueling contacts with an H225M. Over the course of 4 flights, operated in day conditions over the south of France, the A400M performed 51 dry contacts marking a decisive milestone towards its full capability as a tanker. These tests were performed under the coordination of the French “DGA Essais en vol” flight test centre.

The tests, involving no fuel and performed between 1,000 ft and 10,000 ft at flight speeds as low as 105 knots, confirmed the positive results of previous proximity flights conducted at the beginning of 2019. The next step in the flight test program will involve wet contact operations scheduled to take place before the end of 2019 ahead of final certification in 2021.

Airbus and OCCAR sign new A400M Global Support contract

Airbus has signed the new A400M Global Support Step 2 contract with OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation), which manages the multinational programme on behalf of the Launch Customer Nations Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Belgium and Luxembourg.  This is the first support contract for all A400M participating states and it replaces the Global Support agreement Step 1 signed in 2016, which provided support services for France, Spain and the UK.

The contract will bring the benefits of a fully integrated suite of common services using shared resources and assets. It provides a full range of tailored services to meet the needs of the A400M customers, from ground support to airworthiness and from maintenance to material support.