AIRBUS A400 M

Pas de coupes pour l'A400M et l'Eurofighter

BERLIN, 15 octobre (Reuters) - La future coalition gouvernementale allemande n'a pas l'intention de réduire ses commandes d'A400M, ont déclaré jeudi des sources au sein des deux partis impliqués dans les négociations sur la formation de cette alliance de centre-droit.

Un membre du groupe de travail sur la politique de défense a dit qu'il n'y avait aucun projet de réduction des commandes tout en précisant que cette option n'était pas exclue en cas de nouveaux délais dans les livraisons de l'avion de transport militaire d'Airbus, filiale d'EADS.
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Some clarity arrived over the weekend when Independent Group newspapers quoted Armscor's general manager of acquisitions Sipho Mkwanazi as saying the R47 billion included estimates for the full maintenance and life-cycle cost of the eight aircraft (over at least 30 years), "spare parts, retention of skills and the SA National Defence Force having to pay for private freight charters for six years (to 2016) while it waits for delivery."

What will the A400M replace?

But what is the A400M to replace? Much is being made of the aircraft replacing the C130, seven of which have served the SAAF since 1963. They are indeed old, but can soldier on a few more years yet. If the A400M was to replace the C130 on a one-for-one basis, what about Mkwanazi 's comment on charter flights?

Indeed, what to make of the comment made by a senior air force officer at last week's defenceWeb maritime conference that the 13 new Maritime Patrol/Security Aircraft to be acquired shortly under Project Saucepan for delivery around 2016 - funds permitting - will actually replace the C130 as well as the older Douglas C47TP Dakota and the Casa C212 Aviocar and C235 aircraft currently in service with the SAAF's transport squadrons. This was not the first time I had heard this from senior SAAF personalities.

So, spin aside, the A400M will not replace the C130. It will actually replace expensive Ilyushin Il-76 "Candid" charter flights as well as the Boeing 707 airborne refuellers/electronic warfare aircraft, the last of which retired in July 2007.

Currently 192 A400Ms are on order for nine air forces. SA is a risk-sharing partner in the programme, meaning local companies Aerosud and Denel Saab Aerostructures (DSA) stand to profit - or otherwise - from the programme. (DSA posted a loss of R452.6 million for the year to March, largely because of delays in the A400M programme. Risk-sharing indeed!)

Should we walk away, those two companies, which have heavily invested in the project - at face value stand to lose out (though it may be worth checking the fine print.)

Based on the 2005 price, the A400M would have cost the taxpayer just under R1 billion each. C17s are available at about R1.5 billion each - but without the risk-sharing. Should SA buy C17s, Boeing, for which Aerosud and DSA are already doing work, would certainly transfer technology and skills, offsetting at least some of the opportunity lost with the A400M.

The question now is what is it worth to the taxpayer to support DSA, Aerosud, Omnipless and Saab South Africa as well as the Mbeki-administration's dream of building a globally competitive, knowledge-intensive aerospace industry.

It is not clear what SA - or more particularly these companies - stand to make out of the programme. It was reported circa 2005 that if SA exercised its option for all 14 aircraft - eight ordered and an option for six more - it would have had the right to supply 7.2% of the value of the 20 billion euro programme - or 1.44 billion euro (R15.3 billion at the current exchange rate). By taking just eight, that right will be diluted by about half.

L'A400M va entamer ses essais au sol pour un premier vol d'ici fin 2009

PARIS - L'avionneur européen Airbus a annoncé jeudi que l'avion de transport militaire A400M allait commencer les essais au sol en vue d'un "premier vol d'ici la fin de l'année", confirmant ainsi le calendrier précédemment donné.

"Le premier A400M produit par Airbus Military vient d'être remis à l'équipe des Essais en Vol le 12 novembre, permettant ainsi de débuter les divers essais au sol devant être effectués avant le premier vol de l'avion d'ici la fin de l'année", indique-t-il dans un communiqué.

"Les premiers essais au sol débutent généralement deux, trois jours après réception de l'avion", a précisé à l'AFP un porte-parole d'Airbus Military, filiale d'Airbus. Ils auront lieu à Séville, en Espagne, a-t-il ajouté.

"Le but des essais au sol est de vérifier que tous les systèmes avion, les moteurs et l'instrumentation d'essai en vol fonctionnent correctement, afin de garantir la sécurité du premier vol, puis le bon déroulement de la campagne d'essais en vol qui s'ensuivra", précise Airbus, dans son communiqué.

Airbus avait lancé le programme A400M en signant un contrat de 20 milliards d'euros en mai 2003 avec sept pays européens (Allemagne, Espagne, France, Royaume-Uni, Turquie, Belgique et Luxembourg) pour 180 appareils. Le programme a actuellement trois ans de retard, notamment à cause de problèmes de propulsion de l'appareil.

Britain, France demand plan to deal with Airbus A400M costs
With the long-delayed Airbus A400M military transport entering final ground testing, Britain and France are pushing the plane maker to come up with a plan to tackle cost overruns, Reuters reports.

"We have got to stand firm and challenge industry," Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton, head of Britain's Royal Air Force, told Reuters at a military conference in Dubai. "They have got to come back in the middle of next month and tell us what can be done."

Leaders from both countries do not want to cut the number of planes on order or pay more for those jets. But a French official said some deliveries could be delayed and countries could pool maintenance or even share use of some planes in the short run to help keep the program alive.

"We are looking closely at sharing scarce support resources within the group of A400M countries," General Jean-Paul Palomeros, Chief of staff of the French air force, told Reuters.

Dubai 09: PICTURES - Airbus Military runs A400M engines
By Andrew Doyle

Airbus Military (stand A140) has run all four engines on the prototype A400M, putting it on track to fly the delayed airlifter before the end of the year.

The European manufacturer has meanwhile revealed that Riyadh is the favoured location for the in-country modification of five of the six A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports ordered by Saudi Arabia.

After the four engines on the first A400M were run one by one on 15 November, Airbus Military said at the show it was expecting to run all four engines at the same time by today.





Airbus Military


"We are quietly confident that we will be able to do the first flight this side of the new year," Airbus Military vice-president defence capability marketing, Peter Scoffham, said at the show yesterday.

The next steps before first flight will be low- and high-speed taxi trials. Airbus Military aims to bring the A400M to the Berlin air show in June 2010, says Scoffham.

"I think this aircraft will sell itself as soon as people see it in the sky," he adds.

The first "green" Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport for Saudi Arabia has been delivered to the manufacturer's Madrid, Spain conversion centre.

It arrived in Madrid from Airbus's Toulouse assembly line on 10 November, and the modified aircraft is due to be handed over to the Royal Saudi Air Force in 2011.

The additional five aircraft ordered by Saudi Arabia will be converted in Riyadh in partnership with a yet-to-be-selected local partner. Jeddah had been under consideration as the location for the in-country modification centre.

All three A330 MRTTs ordered by UAE will be converted in Madrid, with the first aircraft due to arrive from Toulouse in January 2010. These aircraft will also be delivered from 2011.

A400M-L'Allemagne opposée à une modification du contrat /Source

L'Allemagne s'oppose à toute modification contractuelle du projet A400M, a-t-on déclaré mercredi de source gouvernementale allemande.
Le ministre de la Défense allemand Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg sera à Paris dans la journée pour rencontrer le ministre de la Défense Hervé Morin et il est probable que la question de l'A400M sera évoquée.
EADS, la maison mère d'Airbus, négocie un compromis avec sept pays européens qui ont commandé cet avion de transport militaire, au coeur d'un contrat de 20 milliards d'euros.
Ces sept pays sont la Belgique, la Grande-Bretagne, la France, l'Allemagne, le Luxembourg, l'Espagne et la Turquie.
Un responsable français avait déclaré samedi que le contrat pourrait être remodelé en tranches, les besoins urgents étant traités en priorité, une collaboration entre Etats s'installant si nécessaire et certaines livraisons étant reportées à une date ultérieure.
Mais l'Allemagne semble peu disposée au compromis.
"Pas de modifications contractuelles", telle est la position allemande, a-t-on dit de source gouvernementale à Reuters.
Le Handelsblatt rapporte mercredi que le ministre allemand de la Défense s'oppose à toute modification contractuelle pour satisfaire Airbus.
Une réunion des pays commanditaires de l'A400M doit se tenir jeudi à Berlin au niveau des secrétaires d'Etat pour discuter du dossier.

France et Allemagne veulent un geste d'EADS sur l'A400M

publié le 19/11/2009 à 04:51, Reuters

PARIS, 18 novembre (Reuters) - La France et l'Allemagne veulent un "geste financier" d'EADS sur l'A400M, le programme d'avion de transport militaire européen en retard de près de quatre ans sur le calendrier initial, a déclaré mercredi le ministre de la Défense allemand.

S'exprimant à l'issue d'un rencontre avec Hervé Morin, son homologue français, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg a ajouté que les deux pays avaient défini une position commune sur le dossier et qu'ils étaient tombés d'accord pour dire que le contrat devait être respecté.

"Nous nous sommes beaucoup concertés ces quelques jours. Nous avons réussi a définir une position commune que nous défendrons demain a Berlin", a-t-il déclaré.

"La fidélité au contrat n'est pas que de la sémantique", a poursuivi Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

EADS, le géant européen de l'aéronautique, de la défense et de l'espace, négocie avec les sept européens (Allemagne, Belgique, Espagne, France, Grande-Bretagne, Luxembourg, Turquie) qui ont passé commande pour l'appareil pour tenter de sauver un contrat de quelque 20 milliards d'euros.

Une réunion des pays commanditaires de l'A400M doit de tenir jeudi à Berlin au niveau des secrétaires d'Etat pour discuter du dossier.

PICTURE: A400M completes first ground run of all four engines
By Craig Hoyle

Airbus Military’s delayed A400M transport has been edged closer towards its planned flight debut before year-end, with the type having run all four of its engines simultaneously for the first time.

Achieved at EADS Casa’s San Pablo site near Seville, Spain, the 18 November milestone saw aircraft MSN001’s Europrop International TP400-D6 turboprops run at ground- and flight-idle settings over a 4h period. The engines “performed flawlessly”, says Airbus, with subsequent inspections showing “that there had been no hot-air or fluid leaks”.



Airbus Military


The engine runs came at the end of a three-day test period which had started with so-called “dry” and “wet cranking” of each TP400 in turn, before progressing to use the aircraft’s auxiliary power unit. The engines “will be run up to maximum take-off power in further runs planned to take place shortly,” Airbus says.

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders visited Seville to witness the engine trial, which he says “paves the way to the A400M first flight in the weeks to come.” The company expects to fly MSN001 before the end of next month, but has yet to commit itself to a firm date, noting: “it will take place only when the [flight test] crew feels the aircraft is ready”.

Meanwhile, Airbus personnel are so busy with preparing MSN001 for its first flight that they have so far not found the time to remove the South African flag from the aircraft’s fuselage (below). Pretoria earlier this month surprised the company by cancelling its order for eight A400Ms, deliveries of which had originally been scheduled to begin next year.



Airbus Military


South Africa’s withdrawal has reduced the A400M order book to 184 aircraft for launch customers Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK, plus export buyer Malaysia. The programme’s European partners are in the process of negotiating a new contract for the delayed airlifter with Airbus via the OCCAR procurement agency.

Les pays A400M veulent une solution d'ici la fin 2009/Allemagne

Les pays qui ont passé commande l'A400M, l'avion de transport militaire européen en retard de quatre ans sur le calendrier initial, veulent parvenir à une solution permettant la poursuite du programme d'ici la fin de l'année, a déclaré vendredi le ministère de la Défense allemand.
"Les pays sont tombés d'accord pour dire qu'ils veulent trouver une solution pour poursuivre le programme A400M d'ici la fin de 2009", a déclaré un porte-parole du ministère à l'issue de discussions à Berlin entre les sept pays commanditaires.
EADS, le géant européen de l'aéronautique, de la défense et de l'espace, négocie avec les sept européens (Allemagne, Belgique, Espagne, France, Grande-Bretagne, Luxembourg, Turquie) qui ont passé commande pour l'appareil pour tenter de sauver un contrat de quelque 20 milliards d'euros.
Le gouvernement allemand va inviter des responsables des pays concernés à une nouvelle séance de discussions sur l'A400M au début du mois prochain, a poursuivi le porte-parole du ministère de la Défense.

Will the A400M fly, then?
By David Learmount on November 21, 2009 7:48 PM

The A400M's first all-engine, on-wing engine-run



Now here's a real aeroplane. It has propellers.

And yes, it will fly because we need this machine. At present there's no military airlifter between the C-130 and the C-17 unless you are in the USAF. The maiden flight is programmed some time before the end of the year. But, if it doesn't meet that deadline, patience!

At Toulouse a few months ago I "flew" one of the test simulators for it.

A400M fixed-base simulators, wired up to the "Iron Bird "

test rig for the new aircraft

For an ex Herc driver like me, getting your head around this machine takes some doing, and I'm not there yet. It's a sidestick aircraft (which I have. no probs with), and FBW, but flight envelope protection is invisible. You wanna do a barrel roll? Feel free.

I didn't do a barrel roll, but I did roll 110deg into a mock evasive descent manoeuvre (much good may it have done me in real life).

But just like the A400M's Europrop International TP400-D6 engines - which have been giving problems that have extended the programme's spectacular delays - especially the FADECs, its avionics suite and mission systems need some work yet.



Also, the sims need a lot of shaking down before they deliver. But the engines are the most powerful turboprops the Western world has ever attempted, and the avionics are incredibly ambitious.

Problems? Surprise, surprise! Remember how long the C-130J took to shake down? And that was just a simple Herc with digital avionics and upgraded engines/prop systems.

Since when did military procurement go smoothly?

Anyway, the delays associated with this programme have enabled the "Iron Bird" systems mockup of the A400M to go through many more cycles than it would otherwise have achieved before first flight.

The picture of the "bird" is below. Just so you understand what you are seeing, it's the complete hydraulic, electrical and control surface actuator rig that represents the systems on the real A400M, laid out in a hangar and powered. Imagine the layout you see as being the aeroplane flying in a direction that's laterally 2 o'clock compared with your view of the scene. The wings are against the far wall, and they continue around the corners for lack of lateral space to get all the systems in. The red objects are the control surfaces (spoilers etc), weighted to represent real inertia. The walkway down the centre is the rig for the hydraulics/electrics that follow the fuselage line, and on the left, high up, is the horizontal stabiliser with the screw-jack acuator ahead of its leading edge, and the red units representing the elevators where the trailing edge would be.

It may be rigged to one of the fixed base simulators, but the systems and control surfaces are constantly being flexed as well just to test their durability.

South Africa may have cancelled its A400M orders, but unless they have changed their defence strategy (quite probable) they'll be back. If you need an airlifter in the A400M size/performance category, there's no alternative on the horizon.