France to accept next A400M in the coming days

France has demonstrated the load-carrying credentials of its A400M tactical transport at Le Bourget, as it gets ready to take delivery of a seventh example from Airbus “in the coming days”.
Weighing in at a cool 29t, a VBCI armoured vehicle – used “everywhere” by the nation’s army – has been repeatedly loaded onto the French air force aircraft on display outside Airbus’s chalet. A growth version tipping 32t is to come soon.
Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian opted to keep the nation’s A400Ms in operational use following a fatal accident involving the type in Spain on 9 May. Its fleet has logged more than 150 flight hours since then, in locations including Africa and the Middle East.
flightglobal