First production A400M in French Air Force colours

The first production A400M 21st century airlifter can be seen for the first time in the colours of an air force in this latest picture of the aircraft in the Airbus Military final assembly line (FAL) at Seville, Spain. The photograph shows MSN7 in the colours of the French Air Force, thus passing another milestone in the A400M programme towards first delivery, scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

The A400M is an all-new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world's armed forces in the 21st century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed. Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with a great survivability, the multi-purpose A400M can do more with less, implying smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. The A400M is the most cost-efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.