Oft-Delayed Military Transport Could Finally Be On Track

European planemaker Airbus announced Wednesday its delay-prone A400M military transport turboprop will finally see light under its landing gear this summer.

In a conference at the 2008 Singapore Air Show, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders expressed confidence the program's troubles were behind it, with no further delays on top of the 6-12 month postponement announced in January.

"We intend to fly the aircraft in summer this year," Enders said, according to Reuters. "We are in the time frame that we have predicted, that is, up to one year," he added, in reference to the delays.

As ANN reported, Airbus parent-company EADS announced in October 2007 the four-engine turboprop transport -- intended as a competitor to, and replacement for, the aging Lockheed Martin C-130 -- would be delayed as much as six months.

At that time, EADS confirmed reports EPI, an engine consortium including Rolls Royce and companies from France, Germany and Italy, was behind in work on the TPM400 turboprop engine which will power the aircraft. In January, Airbus added another 3-6 months to that timeline.

The current schedule is dependent on successful testing of the EPI engines, among the largest turboprop powerplants ever built. EPI is slated to test the TPM400 in April.

Despite the delays -- on top of the program's 20-year gestation period -- Airbus says none of the company's 192 orders for the A400M have been cancelled. Germany, France, Spain and Britain are the aircraft's biggest customers.

In addition to competing directly with the C-130, Airbus also sees the A400M as a competitor in some aspects to the larger, turbofan-powered Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

FMI: www.airbusmilitary.com