Well the C-130 appears to be rolling along - up to 50 in the latest DOD order. Taking the $3B / 50 is a unit price of $60M, rather competitive it seems. https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/lockheed-martin-to-deliver-up-to-50-c-130j-super-hercules-to-us-military/136121.article I'm wondering in w...
Jump to posttexl1649 wrote:It is funny to read that the French are blackmailing the Germans on this. Tough to pity the latter, of course...
Since 2019 is over, I started a new thread for 2020 here:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1438823&p=21926463
At Christmas, the 100th aerial refueling mission of an A400M during Operation Counter Daesh was flown in the Middle East. https://twitter.com/Team_Luftwaffe/status/1209415669399339009 (German) The A400M's versatility in the tanker, tactical and logistical roles proved useful after the recent events ...
Jump to postWelcome to the A400m Update Thread for 2020. Please add your comments below.
Link to previous thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1411745
We made use of the GermanRail "Bayern" tickets to use local trains while we were in the STR area. Up to 5 people can travel on local trains for one very low fare. Just in case you consider any side trips in the area. The "Bayern" ticket is for Munich + Bavaria. In Stuttgart you'...
Jump to postThe news in terms of AAR actually is that this aircraft is able to refuel other large aircraft, rather than just small fighter jets. In addition to the wing pods that have been in service for quite a while, a centre-line hose and drum unit that can be installed in the cargo bay serves as a third re...
Jump to postAccording to the latest news, there's a WhatsApp audio message sent from the plane by a soldier to its mother, telling that the plane had experienced some sort of electrical failure. https://tn.com.ar/internacional/un-pasajero-del-avion-que-se-cayo-en-chile-envio-un-dramatico-audio-de-whatsapp-dond...
Jump to postFirst A400M capable of AAR and heavy weight paradrop for the French Air Force has been delivered. France receives first A400M with AAR capability, ability to paradrop 16-tonne load [...] The aircraft was the first A400M capable of dropping a 16-tonne load and perform air-to-air refueling (AAR), acc...
Jump to postAccording to the latest press release , 30 kilometers south of the aircraft's last known position, the Chilean ship Antarctic Endeavour has found pieces of foam that may have been part of the fuel tanks of a C-130. Earlier they had reported that, among others, the US will send a P-8 and the British ...
Jump to postThe Fuerza Aérea de Chile has set up a page with press releases in Spanish: SITUACIÓN C130 HÉRCULES They were at least pretty close to some island (Drake) it seems. Let's hope for the best. At the position in question, I can't find an island on the map. Maybe there's some confusion about the names &...
Jump to postOzair wrote:I also doubt the KC-390 is cheaper to operate than a C-130 per flight hour
I didn't find an original thread, so here's a new one. There is a thread in the Civil Aviation forum about the near-crash. Is it a write-off ? According to the latest FAZ.net article (in German) , this is still being assessed. Anyway Germany has ordered three new Global 6000 jets, the first of whic...
Jump to postNot much new to report lately I guess here? Is the Luftwaffe really this bad off? https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/09/angela_merkels_toll_on_germany.html Typhoon jets: 39 of 128 Tornado jets: 26 of 93 CH-53 transport helicopters: 16 of 72 NH-90 transport helicopters: 13 of 58 Tiger att...
Jump to postAnyone know where to find the "offshore platform" on Google Maps (or any other)? I have been looking around the town mentioned in the articles but they all say it is "offshore in the Barents Sea" and that is a big area. Tugg How about 64°38'52.50"N 39°14'37.42"E In Goo...
Jump to postMeanwhile, the A400M will become a mature platform. Sure, it is going to meaningfully increase in payload range though? It won’t get a different engine likely ever. It is designed for a specific payload and strengthening the airframe to handle a greater payload is going to come at the expense of ra...
Jump to postNoray the recommendations by MITRE are very clear. The USAF, as the study clearly states, is after a C-17/C-5 replacement capability, which currently isn't in production with a vendor the USAF could acquire from. Not a transport that flies half the load half the distance. It's very clear that you'r...
Jump to postNoray the recommendations by MITRE are very clear. The USAF, as the study clearly states, is after a C-17/C-5 replacement capability, which currently isn't in production with a vendor the USAF could acquire from. Not a transport that flies half the load half the distance. It's very clear that you'r...
Jump to postFrom an absolute amateur perspective: [...] I would consider the A400 instead of developing a new airlifter, in order to free up some C-17's or have them work less hard so a life extension program could be postponed or avoided altogether. Blasphemy! He's said it again! Didn't we read in this forum ...
Jump to postA German A400M has completed an experimental two week deployment to Jordania in the air tanker role. During 12 flights that lasted 44 hours altogether, 62 aircraft received almost 128 tons of fuel. https://twitter.com/Team_Luftwaffe/status/1153595545476374528 Also during this deployment, for the fri...
Jump to postThe only piece of information I take from this article is that Germany isn't the only A400M user that has suffered from temporarily poor availability rates. Meanwhile in June 2019, 19 different A400Ms of the Luftwaffe have actually flown within one month. 19 aircraft flying once or more in one mont...
Jump to postAll this is great news for the A400M program. The thing I find lacking in the links is some independent analysis. This is confidential negotiations combined with a press mostly incompetent in defence issues. Any independent analysis would require a leak. Much of the European press is interested onl...
Jump to postThey are not in the air transport business, their current fleet provides them with the lift they need and is inconsequential to the sea based assets they operate. If they wanted something bigger or longer ranged they could have ordered the C-17 when it was available. Further, you still haven't prov...
Jump to postFCAS is not just a new stealth fighter, but a combat system. I guess that the program will provide funds for the development of technologies that will also be useful in new versions of the Rafale and Eurofighter, long before the new fighter gets airborn, and even if it shouldn't materialize at all. ...
Jump to postIt's kind of like going to see a fantasy film in a theater, where willingful suspension of belief is required for one to enjoy the film. Fantasy stories like "the US Navy is not in the transport business" (while it actually operates an air transport fleet), or "the A400M was a conten...
Jump to postSales of the A-400 have been so brisk that there is a decade long backlog, how could any be available for the USN. << Hasn't actual orders been stuck at 174 since 2005? Since 2013 it appears that 79 are delivered. That is nearly 1 per month. >>> Thanks to Spanish overordering, new customers have a ...
Jump to postAren't you letting your imagination run a bit wild based on a un-corroborated one liner from the board's most well known Airbus partisan? El confidencial is a member of this board? Great, you hang your hat on one foreign language report posted by this board's most well known Airbus partisan convinc...
Jump to postWhat's your point? This isn't about the USMC, but the USN, which recently decided to evaluate new aircraft. Obviously their current abilities aren't sufficient. Aren't you letting your imagination run a bit wild based on a un-corroborated one liner from the board's most well known Airbus partisan? ...
Jump to postWhat purpose would the USN have in building up a transport fleet? They haven't operated those types of aircraft in numbers since the Second World War, why would they suddenly decide to do so today? As stated before, the USN does operate an air transport fleet; many smaller countries would be proud ...
Jump to postWhat purpose would the USN have in building up a transport fleet? They haven't operated those types of aircraft in numbers since the Second World War, why would they suddenly decide to do so today? As stated before, the USN does operate an air transport fleet; many smaller countries would be proud ...
Jump to postThing is, USN is not an independent force, it's a part of the DoD, and DoD doesn't even control its own purse strings, that is done by Congress. The odds of this Congress and this Administration deciding to buy A400Ms is tiny, IMHO. I was trying to empathize with those in the USN who ordered the ev...
Jump to postIf we think of the US Navy as an independent force, it's the ideal customer for an allrounder like the A400M. According to Wikipedia, the USN hasn't got more than 17 C-130s, and no larger transport aircraft at all. So an A400M aquisition probably wouldn't comprise a huge number of aircraft either an...
Jump to postGerman and British AF trained together as part of the handover of the Baltic Air Policing. The training included re-fueling of British Eurofighters using a German A400M: https://abload.de/img/screenshot_2019-05-02dzkfa.png As far as I've read, the British Eurofighters took part in the training, but...
Jump to postGrizzly410 wrote:get rid of many OCCAR stuff and get close to the Malaysian standard
The A400M is not a product of market research, but was tailored to the needs of those who've actually ordered it. Also, that's an unfair equation since the A380 had been a complete product for many years before it was cancelled, while some of the A400M's features are still under development. And in...
Jump to postI’m sorry, this may be a great plane but so was the 380......if it iso great why can’t they find enough customers to generate a return? Seems like another market research failure. The A400M is not a product of market research, but was tailored to the needs of those who've actually ordered it. Also,...
Jump to postAs part of earlier renegotiations, the program partners have lended Airbus money that they will only get back in case of exports. So, yes, they will be happy if Airbus exports more A400Ms. BTW, it's always strange to see how everybody's worried about the financial well-being of Airbus, even the most...
Jump to postRevelation wrote:Airbus has lost $billions, continues to do so, and is asking for another round of give backs by the customers.
There is hope that, eventually, those nations may want a replacement, and that that replacement is not by default the C-130J (which isn't selling like hot cakes either). Define "Like hotcakes" because according to the VP here we have over 80 on the books. There still are 100 A400Ms on the...
Jump to postHad the A400 used Pratt Canada's engine, they would have probably landed 20 orders from there and missed many years of costly delay. The program would be a lot healthier today too. Which engine? There didn't exist any off-the-shelf engine for the A400M. That's why EPI boast that the TP400 is the mo...
Jump to postWas the A400 a program launched by Airbus without any specific government putting out a design requirement? No, it was designed to meet a catalogue of 1000+ requirements assembled by the militaries of several European nations in the mid-1990s under the designation "Future Large Aircraft"....
Jump to postWith the economy falling to pieces, nothing will be bought. A few a weeks ago we learned from the internet that Germany is such a rich country that neglects its security since it only spends 1.2% of the GNP on defence. Now, according to the internet, the economy is falling into pieces. This will as...
Jump to postbunumuring wrote:Maybe the 'cargo aircraft' could be C-130Js or are they too big?
It hasn't been announced yet what will be the other nations besides Germany. According to the first reports, there will be 10 German A400Ms in Lechfeld, which, given that Germany has ordered 53, would leave 2 or 3 aircraft for other partners (one could be used for tests). One source said that the L...
Jump to postIt's official now that, in addition to the 40 aircraft in Wunstorf, there will be a second A400M base in Germany. In 2025, a "multinational unit" will be based in Lechfeld near Augsburg, Bavaria. It hasn't been announced yet what will be the other nations besides Germany. According to the...
Jump to postMSN56 to Airbus Flight Test (EC-400). What is that going to be used for? Any idea? ( list of prototypes and test specimen: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M#Liste_der_Prototypen ) Lots of things changed since the prototypes and it would require an awful lot of changes to bring them at the ...
Jump to postI think you need to think again http://www.airforce.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/airforce-news/afn148.pdf Someone might want to update the Wikipedia page for Bamyam airport as it says asphalt. Direction 07/25 Length 2,200m Surface Asphalt Google Earth has satellite imagery from 2004 and shows a dirt strip....
Jump to postThey will make sure an option of 200 intermediate, affordable low risk ships doing what C17/C130 can't do, starting deliveries in 4-5 years will be on the table. Dream on. It's already a non-starter. It's a clear example of the "vulnerability of existing aircraft to detection and interception&...
Jump to postIn other words: the two biggest A400M customers should have bought not one, but two aircraft types unsuitable to their tactical demands? The recent puchase of C-130J's is proof that the A400M is too big for the low end of the tactical role. The limited number they purchased is proof that the low en...
Jump to postI'm not sure if the article is correct though on its claims of the price, that the Spanish will sell the jets at 15% of the per unit price. :shock: Clearly the cost price isn't 27 million so there must be some error in the numbers. The original source is an article in The Korea Times , which says: ...
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