The A400M, also known as Atlas, flies in the skies of several countries and has been successfully integrated into their air force fleets. It is the most modern, innovative and versatile military transport aircraft on the market.
It is the first aircraft designed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space exclusively for military use. When the first lines of development for the A400M programme were addressed, the world had military, humanitarian and security priorities that were completely different from those of several decades earlier, when many of the aircraft currently in service were born.
The requirements put forward by the countries involved in its development were very ambitious. In addition to the capabilities that would be required of the new aircraft from an operational point of view, it would have to be equipped with the latest technologies. And so it has been.
The big challenge the A400M had to overcome was the task of developing a totally new product. The starting point was a blank design table from which it was necessary to address not only the design of each of the aircraft's components, but also the interactions between them, as well as to forecast the evolution of each part and material used. This is an extremely complex process that, in the case of a military transport aircraft, is subject to strict performance requirements established by the armed forces of the nations involved.
Its performance is very attractive. Thanks to the advanced technologies it incorporates, it can reach higher, further and faster that the aircraft it competes with, while offering unbeatable performance on short or tricky runways. Innovations are present in all areas, from its aerodynamic design to the use of composite materials (including a 30% of its structure) or the engines it incorporates.
In this infographics We have grouped together the main features that make the A400M the most efficient and versatile aircraft in its class.
