The world’s most powerful four-engine turboprop wide-body transport aircraft is still not running smoothly: the Bundeswehr’s maintenance costs for the Airbus-transporter are high and clearances are low.
But first things first, let’s start with the payload – and at 37 tons, this is already very impressive. This means that the A400M can carry around eleven tons more freight than the new new C-390M transport aircraft ordered by the German Armed Forces – However, due to its size, the model was never in the race to replace the aging Hercules fleet of the red-white-red armed forces.
The situation is different in Belgium and Luxembourg, Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Turkey. The international armaments cooperation agency OCCAR-EA had already signed the main A400M contract for the delivery of 196 aircraft with Airbus Defense & Space in Brussels on behalf of these nations at the end of 2001. However, this never came into force as the German Bundestag refused to finance the 73 aircraft intended for the Bundeswehr. Only after the German share was reduced to 60 aircraft (now 53) was the final contract signed in Bonn on May 27, 2003 at a price of 20 billion euros. As of June 30, 2024, 127 of these aircraft had been handed over to customers. To date, Germany has received 45 aircraft, France 24, the United Kingdom 22, Spain 14, Turkey 10, Belgium 7, Malaysia 4 and Luxembourg one. Indonesia has also ordered two aircraft. Delivery of the total of 53 German transport aircraft – including the associated logistics products, services and technical information – began at the end of 2014 and is currently scheduled to be completed by 2026. At last, one might think, as the armaments project has been keeping the European military busy for almost three decades now. During this time, modernizations and improvements have had to be incorporated time and again, and a lot of time, energy and money has been spent on multinational developments, productions and upgrades. This may be manageable in times of peace, but in view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war), however, it does not have much to do with being “fit for war”.
Light and shadow
Over the past few years, mission orders for the A400M have increased in all operator air forces, and the weapon system is increasingly becoming the backbone for the entire spectrum of strategic airlift. Further progress has also been made in terms of capabilities: With the so-called “Follow-on Capability 4”, the weapon system has been expanded to include tactical capabilities. For example, it is now possible for the first time to drop paratroopers with automatically triggered parachutes and in free fall at night. However, the technical maturity of the product, which has been described as “unsatisfactory”, continues to result in increased maintenance costs, which allegedly exceed the capacities of the German Air Force (-> current news about the German armed forces). Activities to improve the situation in this regard are now being coordinated by a steering group led by the German Ministry of Defense with the involvement of industry and are – as stated in the annual reports – “being vigorously pursued in order to sustainably improve the material operational readiness of the A400M”. https://militaeraktuell.at/satelliten-internet-us-streitkraefte-wichtiger/ Nevertheless – according to Colonel Christian John, Commodore of Air Transport Wing 62 in Wunstorf in an interview in 2023 – a number of aircraft are still being handed over to industry and are therefore not available for the wing. The reason for this is that the industry not only carries out some of the major maintenance measures under contract, but also the so-called “retrofit” measures at the same time, the purpose of which – as is the case with the F-35 in the USA, for example – is to bring the older aircraft up to a uniform new standard. In 2021, only eight to ten aircraft were clear on average. In 2023, the average was 16 aircraft – a doubling. In recent years, however, the industry has always had an average of 15 to 17 aircraft, and in mid-2023 there were even 20. And the planned times for the return delivery of aircraft are sometimes not met. In order to quickly realize the better industry support demanded by the Air Force a company maintenance center is now even being built right next to the airbase by 2026.
One example: The 35th German A400M remains at Airbus in Getafe, Spain, for the installation of the directional infrared self-protection system (DIRCM). The ground tests for the prototype installation of the J-MUSIC system from Diehl Defense and Elbit Systems in the first German A400M (MSN 105) intended for this purpose began in September 2022, and the subsequent verification flights are currently underway. Completion of DIRCM qualification/certification is planned for the second quarter of 2025. This is part of the third Standard Operating Clearance (SOC 3) expected from the program nations in the second quarter of 2026. According to the German Ministry of Defense, the delays in the certification and approval of the SOC 3 standard have no negative impact on the delivery of the other German A400Ms, but additional, previously unplanned retrofit layover times must now be taken into account in the project planning until 2032. https://militaeraktuell.at/ranger-test-tasmanian-tiger-base-pack-75/
Further adaptation to legal and technical changes
As mentioned, the A400M is therefore considerably delayed and more expensive than its original delivery schedule; if you calculate “unkindly”, it will take 195 months (!) from the original contract to full operational readiness (FOC) in 2026. However, this is not due to the quality of the aircraft, quite the opposite. Rather, it is due to changes in the legal framework, and over such long periods of time, some of the electronics and other equipment will become obsolete. In addition to the spare parts problems that still exist, there are weak points that have been identified during operation, such as in the TP400 turboprop engine (itself a marvel, the most powerful in the West), which is also multinational. In addition, the aircraft now needs to be “adapted” again and “optimized” as it was in 2018. A new contract between Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the UK – again represented by the armaments organization OCCAR – and Airbus is now to be concluded for this purpose. According to the German Ministry of Defense, the costs for this amount to a total of around 380 million euros, with Germany accounting for a share of just under 152 million euros.
Here for further reports on the Bundeswehr and here to further news about Airbus Defense and Space.
