Belgian Air Component Celebrates Arrival of Final A400M Aircraft

Airbus has completed the delivery of A400M military transport aircrafts to the Belgian Air Component. The last A400M was received on January 21, with an official ceremony planned for the end of February. The Belgian-Luxembourg unit now has a total of eight aircraft, seven for Belgium and one for Luxembourg, following deliveries that spanned from October 2020 to January 2024.

The A400M fleet achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in the autumn of 2021 and Limited Operational Capability (LOC) in the spring of 2022. The article mentions that Full Operational Capability (FOC) is expected by the end of the current year or the beginning of 2025. The arrival of the A400Ms required significant infrastructure enhancements at BruMil airport, including a new maintenance hangar in 2021 and a flight simulator building in 2023.

The second phase of the project involves the comprehensive renovation of the Melsbroek base, including the construction of a new aircraft platform (APRON) to facilitate operations, an administrative building for military airport services, a passenger and cargo terminal, dining facilities for staff, and modernization of the sewage system. The Design, Build, and Maintain (DBM) contract was initiated in November 2020, with completion expected early this year, and construction work scheduled from 2025 to 2029.

The A400M is a collaborative European effort initiated in May 2003 to meet the needs of seven European nations, later joined by Malaysia. The assembly takes place in Spain, with wings produced in the UK and the fuselage built in Germany. Operational deployment of the A400M has already occurred in various regions, including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the African Sahel Region, Mali, and the Middle East.

Looking ahead, Belgium plans to acquire three small transport aircraft between 2029 and 2032 for 170.24 million euros, aiming to enhance fleet efficiency and avoid deploying the larger A400M for smaller cargo loads. The aircraft chosen for this task will probably be the C295, also manufactured by Airbus.