First A400M Airlifter Delivered to France
LONDON — The French Air Force has taken delivery of the first A400M airlifter from Airbus Military following type certification and initial operating clearance of the aircraft in the last few days.
The DGA, the French military procurement agency, authorized the delivery today after issuing the military type certificate on July 24. The aircraft is scheduled to fly Aug. 2 to the French Air Force base at Orleans-Bricy from where it will operate.
The delivery marks the culmination of a 10-year effort by Airbus Military to develop a European airlifter. The program has overcome serious technical problems, delivery delays and budget overruns that almost saw Airbus and the partners nations scrap the airlifter.
Handover of the first aircraft follows the July 31 receipt of Type Acceptance at the Initial Operating Clearance standard from OCCAR, the European Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, which has been managing the project on behalf of the seven-nation effort................