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Twelve months ago, it was clear to visitors to Airbus Military’s A400M Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Seville that the aircraft was still very much in its development stage, with five test and development working hard to certify the aircraft and customer deliveries yet to begin.

Also at that time the company’s A330-based multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) was still undergoing initial operations with its four customer nations and, in the case of Australia’s KC-30A, was working through initial stages of a remediation plan to address customer issues with the aerial refuelling boom system (ARBS).

It was the light and medium transport range, primarily consisting of the CN235 and C-295 tactical transports that were the clear breadwinners.

Fast forward to June 2014 and Airbus Military, now renamed Airbus Defence & Space in a major reconfiguration of the wider Airbus group, says the medium transports are still selling well, but it has now delivered three A400Ms to customers; retired one of the test aircraft (with another to be withdrawn shortly); announced a further two MRTT customers, in Singapore and Qatar and launched an updated version, known as MRTT- Enhanced.

Multi-role tanker transport
Antonio Caramazana, vice president head of Airbus Military Derivatives programs revealed that a second RAAF KC30A had returned to Getafe in March, where it is being used to support the first aircraft in certification of the latest boom configuration, known as Update 3.

Caramazana said the Update 3 modification adds a second set of control laws to improve ARBS responsiveness when refuelling large aircraft. This is being made at the request of the RAAF and can be selected on or off as required. Update 3 supplements the earlier Update 2 modifications, which also include human machine interface improvements to the control stick and displays.

“The operator is better informed with less information,” he summarised. “Flight testing is now complete and we are now in certification and qualification testing with work to be completed by the end of July or early August.”

Caramazana said that costs were being borne by both Airbus Defence & Space and the Commonwealth and the remediation agreement (Deed Four) is currently in the signature process stage.

Singapore is now on contract for six MRTTs, similar to the RAAF KC-30A but powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines and Caramazana says India, Qatar and France are in the final stages of negotiation for six, two and twelve (nine firm and three options) respectively.

The first aircraft for Singapore will also be the prototype for the MRTT-E, which will utilise the most recent ‘green aircraft’ from the Airbus production line in Toulouse, which incorporates structural and aerodynamic changes to improve efficiency and new computers and displays.

The prototype MRTT-E will begin conversion in October next year, with flight test to begin in July 2016 and deliveries from 2017. All new MRTT customers from Singapore onwards will have the enhanced variant and Caramazana says studies are now underway to develop a retrofit package for earlier aircraft.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Airbus Defence & Space is in completion with the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker against a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) requirement for an initial four aircraft. Caramazana said the company is also in talks with the European Defence Agency consortium and ‘several other’ potential customers.

A400M
France (two aircraft) and Turkey (one) have now have begun operations with the A400M and as of mid-June there were no fewer than 14 aircraft on the final assembly line in Seville, along with substantial sub-assemblies of a further 20. Long lead items for another nine are on contract, bringing the cumulative total to 52 aircraft (including test aircraft) against 174 on order.

Eleven aircraft are planned for delivery throughout 2014, including the first A400Ms for the United Kingdom and Germany.

From a regional perspective, components of the first aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force are now at Seville and the completed aircraft will be delivered early in 2015.

The first RMAF crews are scheduled to commence training in the Airbus D&S Integrated Training Centre in Seville in September this year.

Demonstration tours have recently been conducted in widely dispersed locations such as Kazakhstan and Mexico and it is understood consideration is being given to a sales tour of Australia and New Zealand, coinciding with the 2015 Australian International Airshow at Avalon.

Rafael Tentor-Auñon, head of A400M program at Airbus Defence and Space revealed that an export campaign is now getting into its stride after several years of company concentration on development and flight test and told ADM that the first slots will become available on the production line in 2017.

Earlier, Antonio Rodriguez Barbarán, head of Commercial, Military aircraft said the market estimate was for between 300 and 400 aircraft (over and above the 174 orders today) over the next 30 years and Airbus D&S had responded to ‘eight or nine’ Requests for Information and/or Proposals so far this year.

“I think we will announce the first order before the end of this year,” he predicts.  

CN235/C-295 medium transport aircraft
Asia-Pacific continues to figure prominently in the order book for light and medium transport aircraft, with the first of a previously-undisclosed order for three C-295s for Vietnam in final assembly in Seville by mid June.

Another undisclosed customer is understood to be the Philippines, with an order for three aircraft.

The company is also promoting its C-295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) variant in the region, most recently with a tour of New Zealand after the Singapore Airshow in February.

The aircraft was a Portuguese Air Force aircraft, equipped with the Airbus D&S Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) mounted on pallets in the cabin. For a country with both maritime patrol/surveillance and transport requirements – such as New Zealand – the company points to the benefits of a palletised mission system.

It is now developing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance versions for SIGINT and ELINT missions, joining the airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) version announced a couple of years ago.

All have FITS at their heart and this is now in its third iteration with the first (a C-295MPA) due to be delivered to the Royal Air Force of Oman shortly.

Other variants under development include water bombers and a gunship.

Antonio Rodriguez Barbarán claims a market share of 83 per cent between the CN235 and larger C-295 in 2013 and one hundred per cent so far in 2014. “We are also the world leader in ISR in this category,” he said.

Airbus Defence & Space has sold 140 C-295s to date, a total which includes 17 aircraft for undisclosed customers.

Typhoon
Finally with the restructure of the Airbus Group, Airbus Defence & Space becomes a Eurofighter partner company and therefore now also has Typhoon in its portfolio. With fighter competitions either already underway or planned in Indonesia and Malaysia at least, the fighter market in the Asia Pacific region has also become an important focus for the company.

Disclaimer: The author travelled to Spain as a guest of Airbus Defence & Space

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