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The 12th French A400M arrived

December 1, 201714th January 2021 Nicolas Gros Verheyde

(credit: DICOD/EMA)

(B2) The twelfth A400M Atlas military transport plane intended for the Air Force landed at Orléans-Bricy air base on Friday (December 1). Bearing the serial number MSN62, this device is the first to be equipped with 2 pods allowing the in-flight refueling of fighter planes, indicates a press release from the ministry. The other aircraft in the fleet will gradually be equipped with this capability during retrofit campaigns. The Ministry of the Armed Forces should have 15 A400Ms by 2019.

The European manufacturer has already delivered 16 aircraft to the United Kingdom (out of 22 ordered), 12 to France (out of 50), 14 to Germany (out of 53), 1 to Spain (out of 27), 4 to Turkey (out of 10 ordered), as well as 4 to Malaysia (out of 4 ordered). The problems remain, however. Thus, an A400M, en route to bring aid to the Caribbean, after hurricane "Irma", had to interrupt its flight after refueling in the Azores. "Diseases of youth" explains, according to the radio NDR, Jörg Langer, spokesman for the German Air Force.

NGV

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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