EADS: USAF can buy 118 A400Ms with savings from C-130, C-5 retirements

Flightglobal ^ | 02/19/2010 | Stephen Trimble

[Still Thinking]

Don’t the Airbus tails have a tendency to break off during stressful turns?

Not that I know of, but their control software seems to take a shit at the most inopportune times.

[Doc91678]

There's no big mystery to the enlarged Airbus A400M.
Our military should not outsource it purchases to other countries.
As it appears, the A400M will need improved runways and will not be able to compete with the C-130 Herc. Time for Lockheed and Boeing to make their submissions for the replacement aircraft.
Gates is out of his ever loving mind to outsource this. The next thing will be buying Chinese or Russian made aircraft to replace the F-22 and F35.

[Still Thinking]

so in the middle of a recession and with all the crap from the ONE about creating & saving jobs, this idiot of a Defense Sec wants to outsource the Air Force requisition purchasing equipment to Europe??

Plus it'd probably come with the avionic equivalent of OnScar. Get in a war with Germany and all your cargo planes mysteriously keep going for a swim mid-Atlantic.

[Doc91678]

There's no big mystery to the enlarged Airbus A400M.
Our military should not outsource it purchases to other countries.
As it appears, the A400M will need improved runways and will not be able to compete with the C-130 Herc. Time for Lockheed and Boeing to make their submissions for the replacement aircraft.
Gates is out of his ever loving mind to outsource this. The next thing will be buying Chinese or Russian made aircraft to replace the F-22 and F35.

[PAR35]

C-130J Super Hercules is the latest model but has not gone into production

Looks like your info is a little more than a decade out of date.

"The latest C-130 to be produced, the C-130J entered the inventory in February 1999."
http://www.403wg.afrc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3444

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I am sorry. Thank you very much for the correction.

:)

[NYFreeper]

C-130J Super Hercules is the latest model but has not gone into production

The C-130J is in production. Being flown by the USAF and others right now.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I am sorry. Thank you very much for the correction.

:)

[NYFreeper]

No sweat, your welcome.

[lewislynn]

f the size comparison data is accurate and the C-130 can't carry strykers, OK they have a point. But C-5s? The behemoth of the sky? dunno.

If I'm not mistaken the C-130 is one of the finest aircraft ever built and unless all cargo is C-5 size it makes no sense.

What next? Retire pick-ups and buy more 5 tons tonnes...from europe?

[OCC]

Vs

I don't think so.

[PAR35]

And while I’m fact checking,

“The A400M features a 3.96m (13ft) cabin diameter, versus the C-130 family’s 2.74m-wide cargo bay. “

The C-130 is only 2.74m high, but it is 3.12 meters wide. Don’t know if the Airbus numbers are correct.

[Irenic]

Any review this to see how bad they’re chopping? It’s terrible.

http://www.defense.gov/qdr/images/QDR_as_of_12Feb10_1000.pdf

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[antiRepublicrat]

And just what is the need for something in this range? We have somewhat less capacity in the small, cheap, abundant C-130, and a hell of a lot more in the somewhat bigger C-17 (in which we can carry up to an M-1). Why do we need this middle-sized plane?

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Secretary Gates would have the answers to all these questions. And they are good questions too.

[Ronin]

I’d go for the AN-70 over the Airbus.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Nice size plane

[diogenes ghost]

"C-130J .....has not gone into production."

Uhhhh...been in production for over ten years.

[A.A. Cunningham]

C-130J Super Hercules is the latest model but has not gone into production

BS