Europe unveils delayed A400M military plane

Reuters ^ | 06/26/2008 | Ben Harding and Tim Hepher

[Republicain]

SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Europe unveiled the A400M military aircraft on Thursday, giving the public a first glimpse of a powerful turboprop plane which will give seven NATO customers urgently needed strategic airlift capacity.

The plane was developed by a unit of aerospace firm EADS at a cost of 20 billion euros (15.6 billion pounds), making it Europe's biggest military cooperation project, but has been dogged by problems in producing the West's most powerful turboprop engines.

The first plane assembled was rolled out of a purpose-built hangar in southern Spain into blinding sunlight at a lavish ceremony attended by King Juan Carlos.

Its maiden flight has been pushed back to September this year from January as a consortium led by Rolls Royce and Snecma wrestles with the engine problems.

EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois told journalists the first flight could be in "September or October".

[Cobra64]

Question: Why do Europeans build military aircraft but never use them? The US always does the heavy lifting. Seems like a waste of money.

[brooklin]

Hasn’t this plane been under devolpment since the F-22 was started?

[snoringbear]

I pulled this excerpt from the article. Appears that the Euros are building a replacement for the C-130, which seems dumb to me. The C-130 is over 50 years old (1954) but has been continuously upgraded over the years and is still a first rate air-lifter for remote unimproved landing strips. But, as others have indicated in this posting string, this plane will probably never see the light of day in any significant numbers.

The A400M was designed as Europe's answer to the aging Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a powerful workhorse made to ship troops and equipment into the world's most rugged hotspots.

[Red Dog #1]

The new C-130J model hasn't always received glowing reviews from its owners. The J is expensive and relies heavily on electronics vs. the relatively cheap/low tech H models. IF the A400M pans out, it could give Lockheed a real run for it's money in the international market. A lot of internationally owned C-130 are nearing the ends of their economical service lives and will need to be replaced soon.

[snoringbear]

“The new C-130J model hasn’t always received glowing reviews from its owners. The J is expensive and relies heavily on electronics vs. the relatively cheap/low tech H models. IF the A400M pans out, it could give Lockheed a real run for it’s money in the international market. A lot of internationally owned C-130 are nearing the ends of their economical service lives and will need to be replaced soon.”

Good insight Red Dog; thanks.

[hellbender]

Question: Why do Europeans build military aircraft but never use them?

Because military spending appeals to the socialist & fascist instincts of the Euro Left. Money is doled out to politically-connected manufacturers, and lots of govt. jobs are created "managing" the projects.

[wildbill]

The Euros are building a chimera to take their non-armies to non-hotspots where they will never protect non-issues because of their non-involvement.

[TLI]

[Yo-Yo]

The A400M is designed to carry more weight and volume than the C-130. It falls between the C-130 and the C-17 in capability, and is exactly what the US Army wants in an aircraft to carry their rapidly bloating FCS vehicles like the Stryker.

For scale, here is a testbed C-130 with a single TP400 Turboprop engine for flight testing:

I wouldn't be shocked to see the A400M eventually introduced to an Air Force near you.

[Mercia]

Eurofighter Typhoon?

Hawker Siddeley Harrier

Dassault Mirage/Mirage 2000

Airbus 300’s (tactical transport)

Eurocopter

Tornado

SEPECAT Jaguar

Nimrod

AugustaWestland EH101 (Merlin)

I could go on and on, all of these aircraft have seen active service, and most seen combat.

Sure, mostly in the service of the UK!