Airbus has conducted maiden flight testing of its A400M new-generation airlifter ordered by the Luxembourg Armed Forces.
The move serves a key milestone before its scheduled delivery to the Luxembourg military.
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In its maiden flight, the aircraft, known as MSN104, took off from Seville in Spain and remained airborne for five hours before landing back on site.
The A400M airlifter is scheduled to be delivered in this quarter.
Once delivered, the aircraft will be operated by a binational unit of Belgium and Luxembourg in the former country.
According to the Airbus website, the A400M is designed to carry strategic loads for deliveries to theatres of operations.
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By GlobalDataCapable of delivering payloads of up to 37t, the aircraft can be used to carry paratroopers, heavy vehicles, equipment and other cargo.
Furthermore, the A400M can be used in refuelling missions.
Overall, the aircraft has a maximum range of around 8,900km and can operate at a maximum speed of 0.72 Mach.
The aircraft assembly works are carried out in Spain while the wings and fuselage are built at the UK and Germany respectively.
The French Air Force inducted the first A400M aircraft in 2014. Since then, Airbus has delivered a total of 88 units.
Last year, the company carried out the A400M airlifter’s first air-to-air refuelling contacts with a helicopter in southern France.
Recently, Airbus also noted to have adapted wing production activity in the plants in the UK and Germany due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
