Airbus A400M

The Airbus A400M is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft that can be configured for aerial refueling. It has been designed by Airbus Military corporation to replace a variety of aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and the Transall C-160. The A400M has been ordered by 9 nations. The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by Aerospatiale, British Aerospace... more

The Airbus A400M is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft that can be configured for aerial refueling. It has been designed by Airbus Military corporation to replace a variety of aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and the Transall C-160. The A400M has been ordered by 9 nations. The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by Aerospatiale, British Aerospace, Lockheed, and MBB to develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160. Varying requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow progress. In 1989 Lockheed left the grouping and went on to develop an upgraded Hercules, the C-130J Super Hercules. With the addition of Alenia and CASA the FIMA group became Euroflag. Originally the SNECMA M138 turboprop (based on the M88 core) was selected to power the A400M. Airbus Military issued a new Request for Proposal in April 2002 which Pratt & Whitney Canada with... less