Airbus A400 Delay Has Caused Chaos And Cancellations: Reports / German Official: Dropping A400M A 'Serious Option'

Airbus A400 Delay Has Caused Chaos And Cancellations: Reports / German Official: Dropping A400M A 'Serious Option' (NSI News Source Info) FRANKFURT, Germany - March 20, 2009: German Deputy Defence Minister Ruediger Wolf said March 19 that canceling orders for the problem-plagued Airbus A400M military transport plane was a serious option. On 9 January 2009, EADS announced that the first delivery has been postponed until at least 2012. EADS also indicated that it wants to renegotiate 'certain technical characteristics' of the aircraft. EADS has long maintained the first deliveries would begin three years after the A400M's first flight. The German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland has closely followed the A400M program and reported on 12 January 2009 that the aircraft is overweight by 12 tons and may not be able to achieve a critical performance requirement, the ability to airlift 32 tons. Sources told FTD that, currently, the aircraft can only lift 29 tons, which is insufficient to carry a modern armored infantry fighting vehicle. The FTD report prompted the chief of the German Air Force to say, "That is a disastrous development," and could delay deliveries to the Luftwaffe until 2014. The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Luftwaffe is delayed at least until 2017. This leads the political planning to potential alternatives in the shape of a higher integration of European airlift capabilities. The OCCAR reminded the participating countries that they can terminate the contract before 31 March 2009. Wolf told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that to bring pressure on Airbus' parent company EADS, "cancellation must be a serious option after a delay of three to six months. "The A400M has been plagued by setbacks, with the aircraft's first flight postponed to a date that has yet to be determined because of engine problems. Wolf, who was quoted indirectly by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, said it was more realistic to extend to six months a moratorium accorded to EADS to get the program back on track. Countries that have ordered the plane, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey, have suggested delaying from April 1 to July 1 the date on which they can begin to cancel contracts. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) was supposed to get the transport plane in the air for an inaugural flight in January 2008, and the seven countries await a total of 180 A400Ms. On March 18, French defense official Laurent Collet-Billon said Paris might reduce the number of planes it has ordered. France has signed on for 50 aircraft, while Germany has ordered 60.