Luxembourg’s new A400M makes maiden flight
Airbus on 13 April confirmed that the Luxembourg Armed Forces’ new A400M airlifter has carried out its maiden flight at Seville Airport in Spain.
The initial flight lasted 5h before returning back to Seville Airport at 16:08 (CET).
The aircraft will be jointly operated by a binational unit from Belgium and Luxembourg and it is expected to be delivered in Q2 FY2020.
Whilst the A400M has been ordered by Luxembourg, the aircraft, known as MSN104 (pictured), will be based in neighbouring Belgium.
Shephard Defence Insight reports that each A400M aircraft costs approximately $187 million and has a maximum range of 4,800km.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
V-22 Osprey safety upgrade moves towards wider fleet installation under $35.5 million deal
Bell Boeing will supply 73 additional ODSSHI kits as NAVAIR prepares to introduce predictive drive-system monitoring across US and Japanese V-22 fleets.
-
AFA 2026: US Air Force examines uncrewed cargo aircraft for contested logistics
The US Air Force is evaluating demonstrators for uncrewed cargo missions as it considers logistics requirements across the Pacific and other contested environments.
-
Europe risks losing control of CUAS production capacity as manufacturers look abroad
European counter-drone developers are securing early orders in the Middle East while slow domestic acquisition processes threaten to redirect production capacity, expertise and investment away from Europe.
-
India’s rotary-wing capability gap grows as IMRH programme delays persist
With IMRH and DBMRH potentially years from service, India faces a widening rotary-wing capability gap that could drive further foreign purchases even as HAL and Safran build the foundations of an indigenous successor.
-
AFA 2026: Swarm Aero eyes 2027 Gamera flight as Textron/Merlin reveal SkyCourier UX
Two new uncrewed aircraft concepts target very different US military requirements, from massed long-range strike to autonomous logistics. Shephard spoke with executives from Swarm Aero, Textron Aviation and Merlin Labs at this year's AFA Air, Space & Cyber conference to learn more about their capabilities.