Aircraft
French Accept First A400M; Spain Wants Fewer
Turkey will be the second of the seven partner nations in Europe to take delivery of the A400M. Its first aircraft is shown conducting engine runs at Seville on July 29. The French air force took delivery of the first production aircraft four days later. (Photo: Airbus Military)
Turkey will be the second of the seven partner nations in Europe to take delivery of the A400M. Its first aircraft is shown conducting engine runs at Seville on July 29. The French air force took delivery of the first production aircraft four days later. (Photo: Airbus Military)

The French Air Force accepted its first A400M airlifter on August 2, when an all-military crew flew the first production aircraft–MSN7–from Seville to its operational base at Orleans. The flight followed a July 31 declaration by the pan-European procurement agency OCCAR that Airbus Military had achieved the contracted specifications for the initial operating capability of the new airlifter. The French defense procurement agency DGA described the first delivery as “the culmination of a long, complex and painstaking process.” Airbus Military noted that more than 5,000 flight-test hours had been amassed during a 10-year development process.