Thales, Airbus Military selected for UK A400m training contract

Thales UK and Airbus Military will provide training services for the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’S) A400M Atlas under a new contract issued by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The 18 year, multi-million pound training services programme will be operated by Thales UK and Airbus Military’s joint venture company, A400M Training Services.

This contract will see A400M Training Services design, construct and manage the A400M Atlas training school; install and maintain full flight simulators and all synthetic training equipment; and support the RAF’s own course design team and training staff.

The training school will be built at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with work planned to complete in spring 2014. The school will train a range of aircrew and ground crew in how to operate and maintain the RAF’s 22 A400M Atlas aircraft.

Marion Broughton, head of Thales UK’s military aerospace business, said: ‘This contract award demonstrates yet again that Thales is a key MoD partner in the provision of training services. It also continues our long association with RAF Brize Norton where we already provide VC10, TriStar and Voyager training services. We look forward to providing further services to the RAF’s next generation of air support aircraft.’

Domingo Ureña-Raso, president and CEO of Airbus Military, added: ‘This contract is an important milestone for the A400M Atlas programme and underlines Airbus Military’s commitment to fully respond to our customers’ training needs. This training programme will set new standards in military service provision, cementing our excellent relationship with the UK MoD. It will also be key to ensuring the smooth entry into service of the A400M Atlas with the RAF. We look forward to providing further innovative services in partnership with the RAF to support their air mobility needs.