A400M deliveries continue, as UK receives third airlifter

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has received into service the third of 22 A400M Atlas transport aircraft, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 6 July.
The airlifter arrived at its homebase at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, having completed pre-delivery trials at the Seville final assembly line in Spain, where it had been held up for some weeks following the fatal crash on 9 May of an aircraft destined for Turkey. There are currently three further aircraft at Seville, which are due to be flown to the United Kingdom in the coming days and weeks.
It is anticipated that the RAF will have received its first seven aircraft by the end of September, at which point the service will declare initial operating capability (IOC) for the type. All 22 aircraft are scheduled to be in service by 2022, to coincide with the retirement of the planned Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules.
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