Airbus Military A400M commences second serial production

The Airbus Military A400M final assembly line (FAL) in Seville, Spain, has begun working on the second serial production A400M. The integration of the wings and central wing-box for this aircraft, known as MSN8, began in February.

The rest of the main components of the second A400M destined for delivery to a customer-the French Air Force- arrived at Seville last week: the vertical tailplane (VTP) from Stade (Germany); the nose from Saint Nazaire (France), the horizontal tailplane (HTP) from the nearby Tablada site (Seville), and the fuselage from Bremen (Germany). France will receive this second A400M military airlifter in 2013

King of Spai n flies in A400

Recently, King Juan Carlos I of Spain became first head of state to fly in Airbus Military A400. With Airbus Chief Test Pilot Military, Edward "Ed" Strongman, and Experimental Test Pilot, Ignacio “Nacho” Lombo, the King of Spain made a local flight of some 40 minutes from the Torrejón base near Madrid.

During the flight the King, who qualified as a military pilot, took control of the aircraft for 20 minutes at around 10,000 feet altitude and performed a series of manoeuvres including turns and a simulated delivery of humanitarian supplies.

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 manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed 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 more with less, implying smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. The A400M is the most cost-efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.