Germany unable to meet NATO readiness target

Germany's military is unable to meet its medium-term readiness target should NATO call on its members to mobilize against an attack, officials said Monday.
The revelation follows days of embarrassing reports about equipment failures that included German army instructors being stranded in Bulgaria en route to Iraq when their plane broke down, and delays in sending weapons to arm Kurdish fighters because of another transport problem.
In the latest incident, the military said one of two aging C-160 aircraft flying German aid to Ebola-affected West Africa has also been grounded on the island of Gran Canaria since the weekend, awaiting repairs.
Asked about a Der Spiegel report that Germany at this juncture wouldn't be able to offer the appropriate number of military aircraft within 180 days of an attack on the NATO alliance.
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Germany to start airlifting aid to Iraq

Germany plans to send aid to northern Iraq on Friday, according to national media reports. Four German Transall military aircraft are set to take off for Erbil, carrying 36 tons of food and supplies to UN organizations for further distribution.
On Tuesday, amid talks to increase European aid to Iraq, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced Berlin would support Iraq's army in its efforts to fight the Islamic State terror group (IS) by delivering non-lethal military aid such as armored vehicles, helmets, night-vision equipment, booby-trap detectors and medical supplies.
dw.de

A400M refuelled in flight for first time

An Airbus Military A400M has received fuel in-flight for the first time, with one of the programme's three development aircraft having achieved the milestone behind a French air force Dassault-Breguet C160 Transall no having problems for the aircraft
This follows an extensive rewriting process, which was initiated following early trials performed behind a Vickers VC10 tanker in 2010.
The process will follow with making contacts behind an RAF A330 Voyager tanker/transport from February 2014 at higher altitudes and faster speeds. Work to also prove the A400M's ability to pass fuel to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters using under-wing hose and drogue refuelling pods will also be conducted in 2014.
Meanwhile, Airbus Military says it will deliver its third production A400M "before Christmas". Turkish air force aircraft MSN9 is awaiting handover at the airframer's San Pablo final assembly site in Seville.
flightglobal

A400M carried out dry refueling with C-160

Airbus Military has successfully performed simulated air-to-air refuelling (AAR) of the new generation A400M airlifter from a C-160 Transall tanker of the French Air Force. The two aircraft conducted 20 "dry contacts", in which no fuel is passed, including one lasting 12 minutes - representative of a normal refuelling operation. It is expected that "wet contacts" will take place in the first quarter of next year. The A400M has now successfully performed refuelling contacts with a VC10 of the Royal Air Force, the C-160, and an Airbus Military A330 MRTT new generation tanker/transport. The photo above shows the A400M refuelling from the C-160 in the latest trials.
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PRESENTE (TRANSALL) Y FUTURO (A400M) SE ENCUENTRAN

La capacidad de carga del A-400M es de 37.000 kgs. frente a los 16.000 del Transall, con lo que la Fuerza Aérea Alemana, podrá dejar su flota en 60 unidades, con más capacidad de carga.
aviaciondigitalglobal.com