Breaking news
France officially accepts Airbus Military A400M heavy lifter at Seville plant, Spain..
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World
Air Force News - France - Airbus |
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| France officially accepts Airbus Military A400M heavy lifter at Seville plant, Spain. | |||
The
French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) accepted the This event involved
the second aircraft delivered to France the third one will likely be delivered
at the beginning of 2014. This ceremony takes place 2 months after the
delivery of the first aircraft which is based in Orléans (South
of Paris) to squadron in charge of testing and training for the type. |
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 Airbus A400M (photo credit: Airbus Military) |
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| More than 700 people celebrated the delivery of the first production A400M new generation airlifter to the French Air Force at a ceremony at the Airbus Military Final Assembly Line (FAL) at Seville, Spain on 30 September. HRH Prince of Asturias, French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian, Spanish Minister of Defence, Pedro Morenés, as well as other military authorities from France and other partner nations and OCCAR representatives attended the ceremony along with EADS CEO Tom Enders, Airbus Military CEO Domingo Ureña-Raso and more than 300 Airbus and Airbus Military staff. The first two French aircraft are being delivered by Airbus Military to IOC (Initial Operational Clearance) standard, offering functionalities limited to logistical flights only. The fourth production Atlas (the third for France), built to SOC 1 (Standard Operating Clearance) standard will offer new tactical functionality. This will include the ability to air-drop payloads and personnel. The third production aircraft will be delivered to Turkey to IOC standard. The aircraft, the first of 50 ordered by France and of a total of 174 on order, will be based at Orleans – Bricy Air Base and initially used for training before being deployed on military and humanitarian missions. |
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