France has awarded Airbus Defence and Space a contract to develop new mission capabilities for the A400M military transport aircraft, adding intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and airborne command functions to the fleet.
The agreement, signed through OCCAR on behalf of the French defence procurement agency, covers development of the Parallel Mission System (PMS), a package that will allow selected French Air and Space Force aircraft to perform missions beyond their traditional transport role.
Related news
Under the plan, the A400M will receive a new mission management system, operator consoles installed in the cargo compartment and an optronic sensor. The aircraft will be able to collect and distribute battlefield information while coordinating operations involving troops, helicopters and fighter aircraft.
Airbus said the system is also being designed to integrate additional sensors and communications equipment and could eventually support the deployment and control of drones and missiles launched from the cargo hold.
The first French A400M equipped with the new system is expected to begin flight testing in 2028 following installation of the equipment in 2027. Additional aircraft could later be modified to accept the PMS kit.
The announcement comes while Airbus continues to look for new roles and customers for the A400M program.
The European airlifter has accumulated 178 orders since launch, with France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom accounting for 152 aircraft, or roughly 85% of the backlog. By the end of May, Airbus had delivered 139 A400Ms, leaving 39 aircraft still to be handed over.
Follow Air Data News: WhatsApp | Google News | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Most of those remaining deliveries are destined for existing operators. France still has 25 aircraft pending delivery, while Spain is due to receive another 13. Kazakhstan is the only export customer with aircraft still awaiting delivery.
Outside the partner nations and NATO operators involved in the program, only Malaysia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan have purchased the aircraft. Together, those three countries account for just eight orders.
Airbus has increasingly promoted the A400M as more than a transport aircraft. The company is studying additional capabilities including long-range electronic warfare, drone deployment, missile release, aerial firefighting and an increase in maximum payload to 40 tonnes.
Those initiatives come at a time when the aircraft faces competition in international campaigns from smaller transports such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and the Embraer C-390 Millennium. Several air forces have opted for those alternatives, citing lower acquisition and operating costs as well as a size better suited to their transport requirements.
