Airbus A400M

• Special to Gulf News
  
• Published: 00:00 March 11, 2010
  
  
  

  Bad news often comes in threes, except for EADS. Three developments in three working days involving the world's second-largest aerospace group have been, respectively: positive but less so than it might seem; expectedly bad; and unexpectedly bad.

  En effet, on peut l'exprimer ainsi !
  

  First, Friday night's deal with European governments to contribute an extra 3.5 billion euros (Dh17.46 billion) to Airbus' over-budget A400M military transport project. That saved the 20 billion-euro venture, but still forced EADS to take a 1.8 billion-euro charge for its share of the cost haemorrhages. And, as Evolution Securities notes, EADS remains on the hook for any further overruns hardly to be ruled out in a project this complex.

  Ce sont les données objectives.
  

  Monday brought the withdrawal of Northrop Grumman, EADS's partner, from the $50 billion race to provide refuelling tankers for the US Air Force. Without its US sponsor, EADS is unlikely to bid solo. That was a blow though one anticipated by the market, which had not factored in earnings from the project; after all, the US Department of Defence' terms clearly favoured Boeing.

  C'est une perception ! Quelle image abjecte le Pentagone donne des USA , son pays !
  Pauvre petit Pentagone ! Il est tombé au niveau de la pantalonnade ! Mieux vaudrait qu'il remonte , du moins, au niveau Vaudeville !
  
  Pauvre petit Pentagone !
  

  Finally, EADS's earnings on Tuesday were the unexpected disappointment. The A400M provision, plus a further 240 million-euro charge on the A380 superjumbo, produced a surprisingly large 763 million-euro net loss, torpedoing the dividend. Worse was the 2010 outlook. Further cost pressures from the A380, plus the weak dollar and other currency effects, are expected to produce an operating profit of about 1 billion euros — half a billion less than the market had assumed.

  Triste reflet du "machin franco-allemand"
  

  That leaves EADS stock looking pricey indeed — even after Tuesday's 5 per cent share price fall. The group was previously trading on a demanding 16 times forecast 2010 earnings; factor in the reduced outlook and the multiple soars into the stratosphere. Nor is there much prospect of earnings rebounding in 2011. The share price may be commencing a long descent.

  Triste perspective, surtout pour l'actuelle Equipe de Direction, qui n'a rien fait pour mériter cela !
  
  A suivre, avec circonspection !
  

Weeks ago, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] bosses were warning that without a bail-out the troubled [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] programme could sink [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. Now, following a 5 March agreement in principle with the seven government customers, the European company claims the airlifter will replace [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as the world's military transport of choice.

"The export potential is huge," says EADS chief executive Louis Gallois. "I think we could reach 400-500 in the next 20 years."

Gallois says negotiations are taking place with South Africa, one of two non-European customers - along with Chile - to cancel commitments. "We will give you an update in a few weeks," he said following the EADS annual results presentation in Paris on 9 March. Pretoria pulled its contract for eight aircraft in November citing delays and rising costs.

The new deal commits the seven original customers - Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK - to pay EADS an additional €2 billion ($2.74 billion), waive all liquidated damages related to the delays and provide a further €1.5 billion in exchange for a share of export sales.
Details have still to be agreed as to how the extra cost will be shared among the countries, although Gallois said it would likely be allocated according to aircraft commitments. Under the deal, nations can drop a total of 10 of the 180 A400Ms on firm order, although Gallois expects delivery schedules to remain intact, with the first aircraft handed over in July 2013.

The size of the export levy paid to the governments is also unclear, but Gallois insisted it will not be so high that the aircraft becomes uncompetitive. "We have agreed that the levy should not put a brake on exports. We have a common interest: nations have to get their levies and we have to make profit," he said.

He added that negotiations with suppliers to recover some of the costs incurred by the failure to integrate on time key equipment - including the Europrop TP400-D6 engine - "will take years".

Gallois denies that the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] programme, which is three years behind its original schedule, has been a "disaster", saying: "Give me an example of any military equipment which has been delivered with less than a three-year delay. It is not a bad performance. I am not proud of it, but 10 years is the benchmark in our business."
EADS blames many of the programme's problems on an "unrealistic" price and supplier workshare contracts agreed in the original contract.

The first A400M (MSN001) flew from Seville to Toulouse on 4 March in its tenth sortie since its maiden flight on 11 December. The second test aircraft will fly "within days", while the third is undergoing final production ground tests before engine installation and will take to the air by the middle of the year.
The fourth test aircraft, now in final assembly at Seville, will join them in the second half of 2010.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown joined forces yesterday to attack the US for alleged protectionism in its handling of a $50bn military tender that looks likely to be awarded to Boeing.

The French president believes the rules of the tender to provide refuelling tankers to the US air force were skewed against EADS, the Franco-German aerospace and defence group. He said: "I did not appreciate this decision. This is not the right way to behave."

Speaking in Downing Street after talks with the British prime minister, Mr Sarkozy accused the US of double standards. "If they want to be heard in the fight against protectionism, they should not set the example of protectionism."

Mr Brown was also unusually forthright in his criticism of the US. "I, too, am disappointed by the American decision and we have made our views known."

EADS, parent company of Airbus, withdrew this week from the long-running competition. It was jointly bidding for the contract with Northrop Grumman, a US defence contractor.

PARIS, 15 mars 2010 (AFP)

Le constructeur aéronautique européen EADS estime pouvoir vendre 500 avions de transport militaire européen A400M dans les trente prochaines années avec une capacité de production de 2 à 2,5 exemplaires par
mois en 2016, a annoncé lundi le directeur d'Airbus Military.

2010 AFP

AMBRE a écrit:500 A 400M sur 30 ans ?

Les chiffres varient, suivant la durée considérée, l'inclusion ou non des 180 avions de base.

Depuis l'introduction de cette idée d'avance sur exports futurs, chacun y va de ses prévisions.

Mais cette fois, l'estimation vient d'Airbus :

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

PARIS, 15 mars 2010 (AFP)

Le constructeur aéronautique européen EADS estime pouvoir vendre 500 avions de transport militaire européen A400M dans les trente prochaines années avec une capacité de production de 2 à 2,5 exemplaires par
mois en 2016, a annoncé lundi le directeur d'Airbus Military.

2010 AFP

Voilà.
Les plans ( sur la comète ) de vente aux US nous rendent dubitatifs

Quant à cette histoire avec l'ASEAN, pour l'heur, c'est une lubie. A moins d'introduire de nouveau le troc...d'une manière très très large.

Pour n'importe quel programme militaire; et pas seulement des aeronefs, les priorités sont les militaires qui, ensuite, répondent aux ordres de se mettre à disposition de services civils de secours, lorsqu'ils existent.

Le jour où ce sera l'inverse, ce sera la paix partout. Un rêve... ( hélas ).

L'exemple sud africain avec l'A400M est symptomatique

Airbus espère vendre environ 210 avions militaires A400M aux Etats-Unis.

L'avionneur européen Airbus a fait part lundi de son ambition de vendre dans les années à venir aux Etats-Unis environ 210 A400M, son avion de transport militaire dont le programme accumule notamment les retards.
Ces déclarations, du directeur d'Airbus Military Domingo Urena, surviennent alors que le groupe EADS, société mère d'Airbus, a renoncé, avec son partenaire Northrop Grumman, à l'appel d'offres de l'armée américaine pour des avions ravitailleurs. Ce contrat, pour lequel Boeing reste seul en lice, est estimé à 35 milliards $ US.
Devant des journalistes à Paris, Domingo Urena a fait savoir qu'Airbus espérait vendre au cours des 30 prochaines années 500 A400M à des pays qui ne participent pas au programme à l'heure actuelle, dont 210 aux Etats-Unis.
Il a souligné que pour l'avionneur européen, "c'est un pays-clef". Selon lui, il est trop tôt pour dire si Airbus recherchera un partenaire ou se lancera seul. "C'est sûr que dans le marché américain, si nous avions un partenaire américain, effectivement ça nous donne un point d'entrée", a-t-il reconnu.
M. Urena a refusé de dévoiler un prix catalogue à l'exportation pour l'avion militaire, précisant simplement qu'il serait "concurrentiel". L'A400M sera en tout cas en concurrence avec d'autres appareils militaires, comme le C-130 de Lockheed Martin et le C-17 de Boeing.
Les sept pays clients de l'A400M (Belgique, Grande-Bretagne, France, Allemagne, Luxembourg, Espagne et Turquie) affichent une commande totale de 180 appareils. La Malaisie en a commandé quatre. Domingo Urena a expliqué que la France, la Grande-Bretagne et l'Allemagne recevront les premiers avions militaires.
Airbus espère lancer les livraisons courant décembre 2012. Quatre avions sortiront des lignes d'assemblage cette année. Les pays clients ont accepté le 5 mars de payer quelque 3,5 milliards d'euros (environ 4,9 milliards $ CAN) de surcoûts du projet afin d'assurer la survie du programme. Ce dernier a accumulé près de quatre ans de retard.

Airbus Military veut lancer la production de l’A400M en 2010

Airbus Military attend de sécuriser le contrat A400M avec les sept nations clientes avant de lancer la production et la stratégie d’exportation. Domingo Urena-Raso, le directeur de la division, a exposé le 15 mars le calendrier du programme et a dépeint le potentiel en exportation du turbopropulseur militaire.

L’année 2010 devrait être riche en avancées. Trois A400M rejoindront le programme d’essais en vol, la production des premiers appareils de série sera lancée et la stratégie d’exportation sera mise en œuvre.

Un calendrier chargé pour 2010
MSN 001 a réalisé son vol inaugural le 11 décembre 2009 et cumulé depuis une quarantaine d’heures de vol en une dizaine de cycles. Domingo Urena-Raso a reconnu que c’était peu mais a mis en cause les conditions météorologiques, très pluvieuses. Or MSN 001 est doté de capteurs – pour calculer les contraintes sur les hélices – très sensibles à l’humidité. L’appareil se trouve à Toulouse depuis le 9 mars.

Le deuxième A400M a été remis à l’équipe d’essais en vol à Séville, où il restera, et devrait effectuer son vol inaugural sous peu. L’assemblage du troisième appareil progresse et achèvera de façon à ce qu’il décolle à la fin du premier semestre. Enfin, toutes les pièces du quatrième appareil sont réunies à Séville et il pourrait voler en décembre.

Il est également prévu que la production commence cette année. Les capacités seront de 4 turbopropulseurs en 2013, puis 8 en 2014 pour atteindre la cadence définitive de 2 voire 2,5 appareils par mois en 2016. La France sera la première cliente livrée, suivie du Royaume-Uni, de l’Allemagne puis des autres nations clientes.

Le potentiel d’exportation
Le programme A400M n’est pas profitable aujourd’hui et, selon Domingo Urena-Raso, il va être difficile de le rendre rentable. L’exportation est donc peut-être la seule chance d’Airbus Military. C’est pourquoi la division militaire de l’avionneur envisage de lancer sa stratégie à l’export au second semestre 2010.

Airbus Military a identifié un potentiel de 500 appareils dans le monde sur trente ans, hors Chine et CEI (Communauté des États indépendants). Domingo Urena-Raso a réaffirmé l’engagement de l’entreprise à investir le marché américain. Les Etats-Unis sont en effet le marché-clef et représentent la moitié du potentiel, avec 250 appareils. Les livraisons ne pourraient cependant pas démarrer rapidement, les trois ou quatre premières années de la chaîne d’assemblage étant bloquées pour les sept nations clientes. Les négociations pourraient en revanche être possibles pour libérer des créneaux les années suivantes.

Les pays clients ont en effet accepté de débourser 3,5 milliards d’euros supplémentaires au début du mois pour sauver le programme, dont deux milliards d’euros représentent l’augmentation du prix sec de l’appareil. Le reste a été consenti en échange d’un intéressement sur les futures ventes à l’export.

The second Airbus Military A400M, known as MSN2, has run all four of its Europrop International (EPI) TP400 turboprop engines in a series of trials after being handed over for flight test.

The aircraft is expected to taxi for the first time shortly and to make its maiden flight from Seville, Spain in a few weeks, joining MSN1 in the sky.

MSN2 will remain based at Seville during the flight-test campaign.

PARIS, 1er avril (Reuters) -

Le ministère de la Défense français a annoncé jeudi une commande de huit avions cargo militaires Casa CN 235 à EADS, afin de maintenir ses capacités de transport aérien en attendant l'arrivée de l'A400M, également construit par le constructeur aéronautique européen.

Ces appareils, qui seront livrés à l'armée de l'Air entre fin 2011 et mi-2013, représentent un investissement de 225 millions d'euros, a précisé la délégation générale pour l'armement (DGA) dans un communiqué.

L'armée de l'Air dispose déjà d'une flotte de 19 CN 235, un avion de transport léger qui réalise des missions logistiques et de largage de parachutistes.

Doté d'une autonomie de 3.500 kilomètres, il peut emporter jusqu'à cinq tonnes de fret ou 40 passagers.

La France, qui a commandé au total 50 A400M, ne recevra le premier exemplaire que début 2013, ce programme ayant désormais quatre ans de retard. Les capacités de l'A400M sont toutefois nettement supérieures à celles du CN 235.

(Jean-Michel Bélot, édité par Wilfrid Exbrayat)

The second Airbus Military A400M military airlifter has made its maiden flight yesterday 8th April.

Known as MSN2, the aircraft took off from Seville, Spain with a take-off weight off 128t at 15.15 local time (GMT +2) and landed back at Seville four hours and 50 minutes later.

Experimental Test Pilot Michel Gagneux captained the flight, supported by Experimental Test Pilot Karl-Heinz Mai. The crew also included Flight Test Engineers Jean-Jacques Bernard and Emiliano Requeña; and Test Flight Engineer Gérard Maisonneuve. The crew confirmed that the aircraft and its four Europrop International TP400D turboprop engines performed in line with expectations.
MSN2 joins its sister-ship MSN1 which has already completed 66h30 flight hours in 15 flights, and is now based at Toulouse.
Airbus head of flight operations Fernando Alonso said: “Having MSN2 join the flying programme is excellent news and will help us accelerate the rate of progress in building flight-hours. This flight confirmed what we have seen with MSN1 already – that this is a highly capable aircraft with the potential to transform military and civic transport operations.”
MSN2 is the second of an eventual five aircraft which will conduct the 3,700 hour flight-test programme leading to first delivery. Like MSN1, it carries heavy flight-test instrumentation. It will be primarily dedicated to aircraft and powerplant performance testing while MSN1 continues to be used for clearance of the aircraft and powerplant flight envelope, loads, flutter, and handling qualities development. The third A400M aircraft is expected to fly by the beginning of the summer and the fourth around the end of the year.
A total of 184 aircraft have so far been ordered by Belgium France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Text of report by influential, privately-owned South African daily Business Day website on 5 May
Airbus Military has cancelled one of Denel Saab Aerostructure's contracts for parts for the new A400M military transport plane, and placed two others on review.
This was done only months after Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu cancelled an order for eight of the aircraft.
The loss of the contract is a major blow to Denel Saab Aerostructure's attempts to return to profitability after years of losses.
The cancellation comes despite assurances from Airbus, when SA cancelled its aircraft order, that work being done by local companies would not be affected.
However, Airbus is coming under intense pressure from European partners for work to be moved to the aerospace industry there.
The A400M is running several years behind schedule, and costs have surged.
This has required the partner countries - Germany, France, Malaysia, Turkey, the UK, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg - to pump more funds into the programme. The governments are in turn leaning on Airbus to provide more work for their aerospace industries.

"Airbus is under pressure from the other A400M programme partner countries to redistribute the industrial work packages that SA contracted for," Airbus Military spokesman Linden Birns said yesterday.
"SA's commitment to acquire A400Ms was tied to its earlier decision to join the A400M programme as a full industrial partner in 2005," said Birns.

Although Airbus had withdrawn a smaller contract, "other more strategically important and valuable packages" with Denel Saab Aerostructures had been protected "for the time being".
"We hope that the government will soon identify SA's future airlift requirements, and engage with industry on the process for acquiring whatever equipment it specifies and selects to meet it," Birns said.
Denel Saab Aerostructures is one of three Denel companies in Denel's stable that weigh heavily on the financial performance of the group.

The unit notched up a R452m loss in the 12 months to March last year. It has invested millions in building prototype parts and ramping up for production of the A400M, and it is not clear whether Denel Saab Aerostructures will be able to recoup any of these investments.

Denel Saab Aerostructures CEO Ismail Dockrat admitted yesterday that the cancellation was a huge blow to the group. "We still have running contracts with Saab and AgustaWestland. However, this was an important contract in our order book, and will have a major impact on our financial recovery.

"We are speaking to Airbus to ascertain why they have cancelled the contract despite assurance last year that they would not. We are seeking to have the cancellations reversed," said Dockrat.

Denel Saab Aerostructures has already revised its restructuring strategy to deal with the loss of the Airbus contracts, and is due to submit it to the board in the next week. "We are also working with various government stakeholders in drawing up a long-term plan for the aerospace industry in SA which will inform the way forward for Denel Saab Aerostructures," said Dockrat.

Private aerospace group Aerosud may also lose some of its contracts to design and manufacture components for the A400M, but MD Paul Potgieter is less concerned than his rival.
"We have a long relationship with Airbus over many years, and have several contracts for other Airbus products, including the A320 and A350 commercial aircraft. We are in the process of finalising several new contracts," said Potgieter.
"We understand the pressure Airbus Military are under from their European partners. If the contract is cancelled, it will not be a unilateral decision by Airbus but rather by mutual agreement," he said.

BROUGHTON, Wales — Moisture-sensitive strain gauges on the propellers of the A400M’s TP400D turboprop engines that have slowed flight testing will likely be removed soon, opening the door for an increase in the pace of flight trials.
The strain gauges are needed to measure stresses on the blades in flight. But because of poor weather at the primary flight test centers in Seville, Spain and Toulouse, the A400M in many cases could not fly, setting back the pace of flight trials.
But Fernando Alonso, the vice president in charge of Airbus flight testing, says the required blade stress measurements will be completed this week, allowing the sensors to be removed and eliminating the handicap.
Airbus Military, through April 30, had reached 32 A400M flights and 128 hours, split between 27 flights and 112 hours on MSN1 and five flights and 16 hours on MSN2. Flights now are close to 150 hours, Alonso says.
MSN3 is to join flight trials next month; it is the first with medium flight instrumentation — the first two are heavily instrumented. It is slated for around 705 flight test hours in the entire campaign. It will be mainly used for systems testing.
“The airplane flies very well,” Alonso says, with no surprises in aircraft handling and aerodynamics. Systems also have not shown any significant issues.
Airbus has been exploring stall characteristics, and so far Alonso says the aircraft recovers very well. There were concerns about deep stall, so Airbus has installed a rocket booster that would push the tail up to help recover, but it has not been needed so far. Airbus plans one more flight test on May 12, and if its results prove successful, the rocket could be removed this weekend. Airbus wants to eliminate the rocket because it adds weight and could constrict flutter testing. The flutter campaign is due to start this month.
Last week, the ramp and door were opened for the first time in flight at speeds of 120-200 knots.

Airbus A400M stepping out in Berlin

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Airbus' A400M military transport will make its first public appearance at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which runs from June 8 to June 13 at Schönefeld Airport, Airbus announced Wednesday.
The A440M is overdue and over-cost, but now in flight testing. Here's a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] from its first flight, on Dec. 11, 2009.
It will be on static and flying display for the first two days of the show, leaving June 10. Airbus will then show its superjumbo [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], starting June 11.
Airbus parent EADS will display, among other things, a full scale cross section of an A400M fuselage and a full scale mock-up of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] cabin housing an theatre showing Airbus' innovations.

ILA: A400M heads for Berlin debut
Some thought that it would never fly, while others believed that development issues and programme delays would lead to its cancellation. But Airbus Military's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] will make its long-awaited first public appearance at this month's Berlin air show, with the manufacturer intent on showing its European customers that their continued commitment to its flagship product will be rewarded.
The A400M should have debuted at ILA two years ago under previous plans, but its historic first showing will still be well placed, given Germany's status as the largest single customer for the type.
Berlin's stake in the project accounts for one-third of the 180 aircraft ordered in a May 2003 contract signed by the governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK via Europe's OCCAR procurement agency.
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
To replace its air force's Dassault-Breguet C160 Transalls, Germany's 60 A400Ms were originally scheduled to be delivered to Wunstorf air base from this year. However, this schedule has slipped by around three years, so the venerable twin-turboprop will have to soldier on for some time.
Highlighting the nation's programme standing, a German officer also recently became the first non-Airbus pilot to fly an A400M. Drawn from a multinational test team that will support military certification activities, the pilot "was really impressed", says Airbus. Representatives from the European Aviation Safety Agency were due to fly the aircraft for the first time in late May.
German industry is also heavily involved in the A400M project. The aircraft's fuselage is delivered to Airbus's San Pablo final assembly line near Seville, Spain via A300-600 Beluga from Bremen. The nation also hosts the assembly of the aircraft's Europrop International TP400-D6 turboprop engines at MTU Aero Engines' Ludwigsfelde site. Vertical tailplanes are delivered from Stade, while the programme's fatigue test aircraft is in Dresden.
However, the German air force's A400M fleet now appears likely to be reduced slightly as Berlin looks to balance the effects of a major overrun to the previously fixed cost of developing and producing the type.
Agreed at €20 billion ($24 billion), this figure has now been increased by at least €4.3 billion under an in-principle agreement reached by the EADS-led company and its customers on 5 March.
Saving the programme from possible cancellation, the launch nations agreed to pay a combined €2 billion more for their aircraft, waive all liquidated damages linked to the delay and to invest a further €1.5 billion in support of Airbus's efforts to export the A400M. The company has also made its own financial provisions as part of the deal.
CANCELLATION OPTION
As part of the agreement, Airbus offered its customers the option to cancel up to 10 aircraft from the original 180. Germany is believed to be keen on removing seven A400Ms from its order, with the UK having already confirmed its intention to reduce its 25-strong commitment by up to three.
In addition to potentially stripping some aircraft from its order, Berlin has also instructed Airbus Military to abandon some of its unique configuration requirements. These include a sophisticated terrain-following navigation system that was being developed by EADS Defence Electronics uniquely for the German air force.
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
"We have an agreement with the German customer to stop that one," says Airbus Military managing director Domingo Ureña. "Every­body understands the economical situation," he adds. "We all need to make efforts, and we opened the door with these [10] aircraft."
Ureña says the company and its customers have shown a "willingness to conclude as soon as possible the formalisation of the agreement. Our target, which we still consider to be feasible, is to have everything ticked, and final approval by the governments before the end of the summer."
Meanwhile, a dispute with engine supplier Europrop over its role in programme delays is being resolved. "We've stopped to claim against each other," Ureña confirms. "Common sense indicated to the two companies to start a process to constructively resolve our problems. We are married for a long time, and divorce is not allowed."
However, relations with Thales are still at a low, and this situation with a major supplier "is the real concern at this moment of the programme", he says.
When Ureña took the helm at Airbus Military in February 2009, the Spanish official was faced with guiding the company through a potentially traumatic integration with Airbus from EADS's Military Transport Aircraft division, while also ensuring that the A400M flew before the end of the year.
With the integration activity having concluded on 1 January, Ureña says the benefits are already evident. "Now, nobody has doubts that we are only one company, as part of Airbus," he says. "We try to share the skills of engineering, production, systems and tools. Our customers are starting to appreciate the value."
With a new contract to place the A400M in a stable position, Ureña says Airbus is committed to "deliver the aircraft fulfilling the guarantees that we have with the customers. The A400M is not capital, it is strategic," he adds.
Ureña says that the European aerospace industry faces a significant near-term challenge, as nations look to reduce their military procurement budgets and place increased support on operations such as those in Afghanistan. However, he believes that positives can still be drawn.
"I am convinced that in difficult times we have more opportunities. It's very easy to make business when everybody has plenty of money," he says.
Airbus has identified a potential market to sell 350-500 more A400Ms to international customers, says senior vice-president commercial Antonio Rodriguez-Barberán. Two potential new air force customers have visited Spain within the last several weeks, but he declines to name them.
Malaysia is the only such buyer for the design, and will receive four. South Africa late last year cancelled its eight-strong order, just weeks before prototype aircraft MSN001 made its first flight on 11 December.
SOUTH AFRICA
Airbus is assessing its long-term ties with South African industry, but with more than €300 million of its own money already invested in local companies it has decided against removing existing work packages. However, it recently rejected one re-bid proposal from Denel Saab Aerostructures.
"We try to engage in dialogue with the customer, and hope that they will reconsider the decision," says Ureña. "Sooner or later, South Africa will need the A400M," he believes.
Ed Strongman, Airbus's chief test pilot military, hopes to encourage wider market interest in the transport by displaying MSN001 at ILA on 8 and 9 June. The company cannot commit to a longer stay to keep momentum with flight testing, but will "demonstrate the full capabilities of the aircraft", he says.
Tests involving MSN001 and MSN002 - both of which carry heavy instrumentation loads weighing around 17t - had reached 165 flight hours and 44 sorties by 20 May.
Recent milestones have included the completion of stall testing without the need to use an emergency booster recovery rocket, which has now been removed from MSN001.
"We approached our first stall with a lot of attention, but it was a piece of cake," says Strongman. The crew encountered buffeting only within around 1° of reaching the stall angle, and the pilots retained full roll control throughout the manoeuvres.
"It's a remarkable aeroplane," he says. "It has as good, or better handling qualities than an A320." He attributes this partly to the A400M's counter-rotating propeller configuration, which adds to its stability under such conditions.
Stall testing was conducted between idle and full power and with forward, centre and aft centre of gravity loadings, and at altitudes between 32,000ft (9,760m) and 10,000ft.
Strongman declines to identify the angles of attack achieved before the stall, but confirms: "The alphas were as predicted, and in some cases higher."
The test team is establishing where limits exist, and the A400M's envelope protection will prevent operational crews from encountering potentially dangerous conditions.
This process also included demonstrating the A400M's impressive maximum lateral roll rate. Airbus is required to certificate its roll protection at 90°, but says it will instead offer 120°. Strongman says the test actually demonstrated an angle of 124° due to an incorrect stick input, but adds that this was still "well within the range of the aeroplane. It was Friday night and it was 8 o'clock, but it was good," he adds.
The aircraft during April underwent testing at Istres in southern France to assess its handling characteristics in ground effect down to just 15ft above the runway. "We were just on the limits of turbulence also, so it was a really good simulation," says Strongman.
Full sideslip and load factors testing have been completed, the aircraft has been operated across its stress range of +2.5g to -1g, and its doors and cargo ramp have been opened in flight at between 120kt (222km/h) and 200kt without affecting handling characteristics.
A maximum altitude of 34,000ft has been achieved, and the A400M was due to be taken to its VD velocity limit, and to perform flutter validation flights in late May. At this point, a major restriction to testing can be lifted, with stress gauges to be removed from the TP400's Ratier-Figeac propeller blades. This will enable the flight test team to fly the A400M through clouds and rain for the first time.
In an unusual parallel with a past programme, Strongman says that during some flight conditions and angles of attack at higher altitudes, the A400M exhibited a slight snaking motion. Experience within Airbus likened the characteristic with the Transall, and adopted the same solution. Strakes added to the main landing gear sponsons now act as vortex generators, and Strongman says the trait has not been encountered on any subsequent flights.
OVERHEATING ISSUE
Other earlier issues from flight testing are in the process of being addressed, such as to fix a landing gear overheating issue. More work will be performed to define braking limits and to perform rejected take-offs. A new high power mode full authority digital engine control software load for the TP400 has also recently been tested on one engine, and will soon be expanded to all stations.
Although flight-test activities got off to a slower than expected start, because of unusually bad weather in Seville and Toulouse over the winter months, MSN001 in mid-May for the first time flew twice in one day.
"The whole process is accelerating," says Strongman, who describes the transport as intuitive and easy to operate.
"Every pilot has a smile on his face, due to the A400M's handling and manoeuvrability," Strongman says.
MORE A400MS POISED TO JOIN FLIGHT TESTING
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With the A400M programme's first two prototype aircraft now being flown regularly in France and Spain, Airbus Military is preparing to double the size of its test fleet within the next six months.
Due to fly in the "early summer", MSN003 was in late May undergoing final clearance tests on the company's San Pablo final assembly line near Seville, and will soon be transferred to its flight-test department at the site.
To be employed for systems testing from Toulouse, the aircraft has several modifications made following the lessons learned in early flight-testing. These include the addition of small strakes on the main landing gear sponsons and a lower auxiliary power unit exhaust chimney.
Aircraft MSN004 is in the general joining stage at San Pablo and was scheduled to undergo power-on for the first time in the last week of May. First flight is planned before the end of the year.
All major components for the remaining flight-test example are in production and final assembly work will start in the third quarter of this year. The first A400M to be built to a series production standard, MSN006 will have weight reduction modifications and other system upgrades.
Parts are also being produced for the programme's first customer aircraft, which should be delivered to the French air force in December 2012. The San Pablo facility is expected to complete 2.5 aircraft a month by 2015, against a peak of three a month.
"Production is working smoothly and we think we are on the way to success," says Rafael Nogueras Cebrero, head of the A400M final assembly line and flight-test centre.