Airbus A400M Atlas (RAF)

[Gabriele]

Note DAS bulges. Hopefully sign of successful integration completed.

[GibMariner]

RAF Atlas at Gib this morning.

There was a piece in the Gibraltar Chronicle yesterday about an Atlas being grounded at RAF Gibraltar temporarily after having a "minor technical malfunction" during a training flight, but it hasn't surfaced online yet. Just a low quality image from the Chronicle's front page:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CarLQM3XIAAOiax.jpg

[The Armchair Soldier]

All six of our Atlas' in one shot:

[GibMariner]

A400M Atlas ZM401 departure from RAF Gibraltar on Friday:

[arfah]

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[arfah]

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[Pymes75]

ZM407 was delivered to Brize on Wednesday 11th May. 1/3 of the way there....

[Tinman]

Have I mentioned that the RAF have recently conducted free fall trials from the C17?

[R686]

Appears A400M will have a new home in the not to distance future. numbers unknown at this point in time


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indon ... SKCN0Y211X

[SKB]

ZM406 at Edinburgh Airport

[bobp]

Quite a good video to watch thanks for posting SKB

[ArmChairCivvy]

We got what the government wanted to pay for.

And the armchair experts who say well we own them now

... I was just about to

[R686]

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... racks.html

More drama's for the A400, can't seem to take a trick. Wonder if Airbus wish the plane stayed on the drawing board?

Must be costing them a bit of coin and damage to reputation.

[ArmChairCivvy]

Reminds me of a Woody Allen line:

"I'm a fund manager... I manage other people's money, until all the money is gone."

From 2011:

"Airbus Military's parent company EADS had threatened to pull the plug on Europe's biggest defence project unless the partner nations stumped up more cash to cover cost overruns of about 5.2 billion euros ($7.0 billion).

Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey agreed the project in 2003 and it was meant to showpiece Europe's independence from US defence suppliers.

The deal on the financing of the long-delayed A400M [...] was signed at Airbus Military's facility in the southwestern Spanish city Seville"

Looks like Airbus have "eaten" 3 bn as e 5bn has been provisioned against... so just about all the money is gone!
- the 5.2 only becomes repayable from exports achieved outside the original Partner countries

[R686]

Reminds me of a Woody Allen line:

"I'm a fund manager... I manage other people's money, until all the money is gone."

From 2011:

"Airbus Military's parent company EADS had threatened to pull the plug on Europe's biggest defence project unless the partner nations stumped up more cash to cover cost overruns of about 5.2 billion euros ($7.0 billion).

Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey agreed the project in 2003 and it was meant to showpiece Europe's independence from US defence suppliers.

The deal on the financing of the long-delayed A400M [...] was signed at Airbus Military's facility in the southwestern Spanish city Seville"

Looks like Airbus have "eaten" 3 bn as e 5bn has been provisioned against... so just about all the money is gone!
- the 5.2 only becomes repayable from exports achieved outside the original Partner countries

so does that mean any extra sold Airbus makes no profit?

[ArmChairCivvy]

No, it just means that the original partners have become quasi-shareholders, and any such sales open the prospect of being paid back (some day)

[arfah]

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[downsizer]

I've said all along we'd have been much better off with extra Js and C17s as opposed to this eurofag abortion. And to think we were within an inch of pulling out. Missed opportunity.

[arfah]

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[marktigger]

funny there were people saying we shouldn't have bought the J and just refurbished the K because of issues with its engines and props and its inability to drop paratroops. And I'm sure there were those who felt we should have soldiered on with the Dakota, Valetta, hastings, Beverley, Argosy, Belfast etc and not bought a new type.

[ArmChairCivvy]

No arguments from me re: Belfast; wiki tells us

"TAC HeavyLift purchased five Belfasts for commercial use in 1977 and operated three of them from 1980 after being reworked to receive commercial certification. Ironically, some of them were later chartered during the Falklands war, with some sources suggesting that this cost more than keeping all the aircraft in RAF service until the 1990s.[5] HeavyLift's Belfasts were again contracted to support the RAF during the first Gulf War, transporting vehicles and helicopters too large to be carried by the Hercules fleet"

[arfah]

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[marktigger]

funny there were people saying we shouldn't have bought the J and just refurbished the K because of issues with its engines and props and its inability to drop paratroops. And I'm sure there were those who felt we should have soldiered on with the Dakota, Valetta, hastings, Beverley, Argosy, Belfast etc and not bought a new type.

So you do prefer the L85A2 over L1A1 rifle, then.

as a 5.56 rifle to replace the L1a1 no we shouldn't have bought the L85 at all we should have bought the C7 and C8.

[marktigger]

No arguments from me re: Belfast; wiki tells us

"TAC HeavyLift purchased five Belfasts for commercial use in 1977 and operated three of them from 1980 after being reworked to receive commercial certification. Ironically, some of them were later chartered during the Falklands war, with some sources suggesting that this cost more than keeping all the aircraft in RAF service until the 1990s.[5] HeavyLift's Belfasts were again contracted to support the RAF during the first Gulf War, transporting vehicles and helicopters too large to be carried by the Hercules fleet"

Belfast had major drag problems that were never resolved but i'm sure the airforce regretted having to retire them in the 70's. just a pity the govt didn't invest in shorts for a "Belfast II" program.

[ArmChairCivvy]

I think they were resolved after the initial five a/c; but
that is neither here or there

-as what I quoted is the value of them (as if!)

but the drag and all (warts) is what the cost accountants, and people with a similar mindset do to capabilities
- the capabilities (more than the capacity) , in the end, is the differentiator