MILITARY LUFTWAFFE A400
causes are rapidly being overcome. The
transition for pilots with experience on the
C-160D starts with a 41-day type-rating
course, followed by an academic course
of two to three months. This comprises
a number of simulator flights but also a
45-minute flight at the controls of an A400M
during which approaches and landings are
practised.
Although the first German pilots were
trained in Seville, pilot training now happens
at Wunstorf. This is scheduled to change,
with tactical training planned to be run
at BA123 Orléans in France and logistics
training at Wunstorf. A400 crews are flying
much more than their Transall counterparts.
To maintain currency on the type, a minimum
of 70 flying hours is required every year and
on average the pilots log 140 hours.
Major Christoph, a former Transall pilot
who became Aircraft Commander on the
A400M this year told AIR International: “The
A400M is a much safer aircraft than the
C-160. If one engine failed on the C-160 you
had a big problem. With the A400M, if there’s
a single engine out, we’ve got three engines
left. For us flying the A400M is playing in the
Champions League.”
With 60 flying hours on the A400M he is
very positive about the aircraft. “Germany
bought a new transport aircraft which can’t
be seen as a successor to the Transall
C-160D. The capability and technology of
A400M differs so much and therefore makes
it a completely different aircraft from theC-160D, which I used to fly.”
For a technician who used to work on
the C-160D Transall, the A400M is also a
challenge. Chief Master Sergeant Stephan has
been in the A400M programme for 13 years
and is now part of the Taktisch Technische
Verfahrungsgruppe (TTVG or Tactical Technical
Group). The TTVG is a small group of test
pilots, loadmasters and other officers who
work closely together with Airbus and other
users of the A400M, like the UK and France,
on its design and functionality. Chief Master
Sergeant Stephan was the first A400M
loadmaster in the Luftwaffe. As a member of
the TTVG he is involved in the operational tests
and evaluation of this aircraft and said: “I had
worked on the C-160D for many years and
had to erase my brain before reloading all the
A400M information. You are inclined to look
back and compare the two aircraft and that’s
not very helpful.”
The sixth Luftwaffe A400M, delivered in
December 2016, was the first A400M certified
for tactical operations and able to fly in areas
subject to military threats. All the earlier
aircraft will be updated to the new standard.
Key aspects of the aircraft’s latest capabilities
include improvements to its self-defence
systems, an ability to airdrop cargo loads,
and paratroops. It can operate on unprepared
runways, fly as low as 150ft above ground
level (AGL), refuel other aircraft in flight and
safely take-off and land in extremely high
temperatures.
Of the 53 aircraft ordered, 24 will befitted with a defensive-aids sub-system
incorporating a missile warning system,
radar warning receiver, and an expendables-
dispensing system to eject flares and radar-
confusing chaff. The other 16 scheduled to
enter service with the Luftwaffe will be used
as transports. What the configuration of the
13 redundant aircraft will be is still unknown.Alternative aircraft
More often than not, German armed forces
participate in mandated international (UN)
missions such as the one in Mali. According
to German politicians, the size of the A400M
presents the government with a tough
challenge when it comes to medevac from
such crisis areas. The Transall only needs
550m (1,800ft) to land and 800m (2,625ft) for
take-off but the much larger A400M requires
approximately 800m to land and almost
1,000m (3,300ft) for take-off. It means the
Germans will be dependent on other countries
or civil contractors to get into those small strips
accessible by the Transall. Unlike Germany, all
other A400M users have the alternative of the
C-130, which can do the job, in their inventory.
Germany has agreed with France that, from
2021, the two countries will set up a joint air
transport unit at BA105 Évreux, southwest of
Paris. The two countries began to work on the
deal in October 2016 and announced the first
outlines of their plans in February this year.
Besides the costs of the aircraft, an additional
€110 million is required for infrastructure
and simulators for training purposes. FranceLuftwaffe A400 54+06 departs RAF Fairford after participating
in this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo which marked the
international air show debut for the Luftwaffe’s A400. Mark Ayton