An A400M Atlas aircraft takes off from RAF Brize Norton [Picture: Paul Crouch, Crown copyright] U.K Ministry of Defense signed a total ...
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| An A400M Atlas aircraft takes off from RAF Brize Norton [Picture: Paul Crouch, Crown copyright] |
MoD signed a contract with Airbus Military and Thales UK to supply training services for the A400M Atlas, the Royal Air Force’s next-generation military transport aircraft.
The Ministry of Defence is investing £226 million in a specialist training school at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire where the fleet of transport aircraft will be based.
It will house 2 full flight simulators to train RAF pilots, a specialist workstation to train loadmasters, a cockpit simulator to train engineers and a suite of computer-based training equipment.
The facility will allow all personnel who operate, support and maintain the A400m aircraft to train in a replica environment, giving them the best and safest learning experience available.
The multi-million pound training services programme will be operated by A400M Training Services Ltd, a joint venture between Airbus Military and Thales UK.
The training services will include the design, construction and management of the A400M Atlas training school, the installation and maintenance of full flight simulators and all synthetic training equipment, and support to the RAF’s own course design team and training staff.
The training school will be built at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with work planned to complete in spring 2014.
MoD also awarded a £80 million contract to Northrop Grumman for defensive aids for the A400M Atlas.
The contract is for the development, manufacture and installation of the modifications required to the aircraft so that it can operate the large aircraft infrared countermeasures defensive aids system when flying in hostile environments.
The MOD is buying 22 A400M Atlas transport aircraft to replace the RAF’s fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules , with the first aircraft entering service in late 2014.
Able to carry twice as much as the C-130 Hercules, the A400M Atlas can transport 32 tonnes of cargo over a range of 4,500 kilometres, providing unprecedented capability to support the UK Armed Forces.
Alongside the C-17 Globemaster and the new Voyager aircraft now entering service with the RAF, the A400M Atlas fleet will give the RAF the ability to deploy any where around the world.
The contract and associated simulator orders are expected to sustain up to 300 long-term jobs, principally at RAF Brize Norton and at Thales UK’s facility in Crawley, West Sussex, where the simulators are being built, and also in Airbus Military.
Airbus Military's first production A400M for French Air Force is on track to perform its debut flight from Seville during this week.
