MILITARY LUFTWAFFE A400
C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster.
One of the taglines for the A400M was that
it could transport what the C-130 could
not and to places the C-17 could not land.
However, varying specifications per country
and political differences slowed down the
process and Lockheed left the programme
in 1989, focusing on further upgrading its
C-130. Soon afterwards, Alenia from Italy
and Casa from Spain joined the group, but
eventually Italy also quit the programme. On
May 27, 2003 the order was finally given to
produce a total of 180 aircraft. First flight
was scheduled for February 2008 followed
by delivery of the first aircraft, to France, in
October 2009. Production of the aircraft was
to be centred in Seville, Spain.
During the development phase, an
increasing emphasis on the aircraft’s tactical
role led to the decision to use turboprop
engines instead of the initially planned
jets or turbofans. However, one of the first
challenges for the manufacturers was the
lack of appropriate turboprops – engines
powerful enough for the A400M to fly at
Mach 0.72 cruise speed. First choice was
the SNECMA M138, but this modified
M88 engine could not meet the A400M’s
weight or specific fuel consumption targets.
Consequently, Airbus Military issued a new
request for proposal in April 2002. Even
though Pratt & Whitney Canada responded
with its proven PW180, the completely
new Europrop International TP400-D6 was
selected.
The announcement provoked fury across
the Atlantic and the Europeans were accused
of making political rather than price-based
decisions. The new design of the turboprop
engine was quite revolutionary. The majorityof propeller driven aircraft have all their
propellers turning in the same direction but
the pair of propellers on each wing of the
A400M rotate in opposite directions. The
counter rotation is achieved using a Propeller
Gear Box (PGB) fitted to two of the engines
which turn the propeller on that engine in
the opposite direction. All four engines are
identical and turn in the same direction,
eliminating the need to have two differently-
handed engines, simplifying maintenance
and supply costs.
To help the aircraft get certified to civil
standards, Airbus decided to reduce the risks
of the programme by testing the engine on a
flying test bed and contracted the Marshall
Aerospace and Defense Group. Airbus Military
specified 700 parameters to be tested and
Marshall added another 200. Many factors
led to the first flight test of the new TP400-D6
engines on a highly modified C-130K
Hercules slipping by 22 months. A design
error meant that the engine used for the test
did not correspond to the specifications
for production powerplants and there were
problems with the engine controls.
Eventually, on December 17, 2008, the
specially converted C-130K Hercules, RAF
serial number XV208, took to the sky on
the first of 18 test flights. Final assembly of
the first A400M began at the Seville plant in
early 2007 and a roll out ceremony, attended
by King Juan Carlos of Spain took place on
June 26, 2008.
The programme continued to be dogged
by programme delays, schedule adjustments
and financial pressures. For example,
the production of the fuselage had to be
stopped and design changes made when it
became too heavy because of measures tocompensate for serious vibration caused
by the powerful engines. On January 9,
2009 Airbus Military announced that the
projected date for the first delivery had
been postponed from 2009 to at least 2012.
Finally, in January 2011, serial production
formally commenced and the first A400M for
France’s Armée de l’Air was officially handed
over on September 30, 2013.
Tragedy struck the programme on May 9,
2015 when the 23rd production aircraft, the
third for Turkey, crashed on take-off for a pre-
delivery test flight from Seville airport, killing
four crew members and seriously injuring
two more. The pilots had reported a technical
fault and asked ATC permission to land,
but the aircraft hit an electricity pylon while
attempting an emergency landing. Several
reports suggested that as many as three
of the aircraft’s four engines failed during
the A400M’s departure. Analysis of the
flight data recorders proved that incorrectly
installed engine control software caused
the fatal crash. Investigators confirmed that
engines one, two and three experienced
a power freeze after take-off and did not
respond to the crew’s attempts to control
the power setting in the normal way. The key
scenario examined by investigators was that
the torque calibration parameter data was
accidentally wiped on three engines when
the engine software was being installed at
Airbus’s facilities, preventing the full authority
digital engine control from operating.
A400Ms in service with air forces across
the world were grounded during the crash
investigation but Airbus decided to show the
world that the aircraft was safe and resumed
flying two days after the crash with its own
test aircraft.An A400’s cargo box measures 17.7m in length, 4m wide and 3.85m high.