The A400M is the latest addition to the RAF’s tactical airlifter
capability and can carry up to 37 tonnes of payload over a range
of 2,000 nautical miles. It is able to deploy troops and
equipment between and within theatres of operation either by
parachute or by landing on short, potentially unprepared
airstrips.
Atlas can also carry armoured vehicles, allowing a deploying
force to arrive ready to fight. For humanitarian roles, it is
capable of deploying mobile cranes, excavators and large dump
trucks for disaster relief operations– for example clearing
earthquake sites.
The in-service support contract will sustain around 200 UK jobs
with Airbus Defence and Space, focused around RAF Brize Norton in
Oxfordshire. More widely, the Atlas programme has a far-reaching
UK supply chain, with around 200 additional jobs sustained at
companies in: Gloucestershire, Somerset and Sussex, including
Messier Dowty in Gloucester, and Thales in Crawley and GKN and
Rolls Royce in and around Bristol.
Air Marshal Young, Chief of Materiel (Air)
at the MOD’s Defence Equipment & Support organisation said:
The A400M Atlas will form the backbone of the Royal Air Force’s
Strategic and Tactical Air Transport capability over the next
decade and beyond.
This key contract will deliver maintenance for our A400M Atlas
fleet, enabling this class-leading aircraft to support UK
military operations around the globe.
The RAF currently has 14 Atlas aircraft in service, with the
planned fleet of 22 scheduled to enter service by 2019.
The contract with Airbus will pay for maintenance, upgrade and
repair of the UK’s entire fleet of Atlas transport planes into
the next decade.
The new deal draws on a separate two-year Global Support Contract
worth £63 million that has also just been agreed with France and
Spain, which will provide common support and spares services, and
is the first step towards a 6-Nation Global Support arrangement.
Chief Executive Officer for the UK’s Defence Equipment and
Support organisation, Tony Douglas, said:
The UK’s future armed forces will be prepared to respond
quickly to global developments and the delivery of
next-generation aircraft such as Atlas is vital to the
fulfilment of this vision.
As part of the wider Atlas programme, this new support contract
draws on multinational cooperation and the strong relationships
across UK Defence that are delivering this remarkable aircraft
to the RAF.
The new contracts come after the delivery of important training
systems to the RAF, including two cockpit simulators and a cargo
hold trainer. The new training equipment at RAF Brize Norton has
a combined value of £141 million and is supported through a
pre-existing service support contract worth £226 million. The
second of two flight simulators and a cargo hold trainer were
delivered earlier in 2016 and the facilities will provide
training activities for up to 60 flight crews, and 60 maintenance
personnel a year.
Elsewhere on site, a new, innovative hangar facility worth around
£62 million is on schedule to be fully fitted-out by early 2017.
This huge building is capable of housing three Atlas aircraft
during maintenance periods.
