Electrical Harnesses May Pose Problems Ahead

Aero-News has learned the two month-review of the Airbus A400M program, mandated by the CEOs of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) in September, was completed last week through presentations to Europe's Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'ARmement (OCCAR) and the Board of Directors at EADS.

Airbus reports that overall, the review validated that the A400M program is currently progressing according to the contractually agreed schedule. However, EADS states several "significant" challenges lie ahead before the first delivery of the military-spec turboprop transport in 2009.

Those risk areas include systems design, and in particular electrical harnesses; maturity of military mission systems; engine modifications; and remaining work to be done on the Final Assembly Line.

The European planemaker called the review the most comprehensive assessment ever done on an EADS development program. The review team -- which incorporated external experts and "veterans" from the A380 review of last summer -- conducted intensive program management and floor level interviews, industrial site visits and data analysis, capitalizing on reference data from the A380 and other programs as far as applicable.

The review team has proposed detailed mitigating actions to comply with the delivery schedule committed to customers. These actions were endorsed by the CEOs of EADS and the Board of Directors.

Implementation will be followed by EADS Co-CEOs Louis Gallois and Thomas Enders personally, on a bimonthly basis.

FMI: www.airbus.com