Airbus A400M Atlas celebrates 10 years of service with RAF

Ten years ago this Sunday on an overcast Oxfordshire Autumnal afternoon, the Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery of its first A400M military transport aircraft - Airbus’ four-engine turboprop airlifter. But what’s the ‘Atlas’, as it is affectionately known in the UK, like to operate and what makes its capabilities just so world-beating?

“The A400M really is the 21st Century airlifter,” says Ed Horne, an A400M pilot of three years and now Senior Military Adviser to Airbus. “Compared to some of its rivals, it incorporates much more modern technology. It’s a fifth-generation aircraft.

“What really sets the A400M apart is its ability to accomplish three-missions-in-one,” Horne continues. 

“It has the ability to carry large and heavy payloads and equipment, or lots of troops, over long distances; it can carry out these missions on unpaved and beach surfaces or - when it comes to troop or special-forces drops - over short distances.”

Never were some of these capabilities more ably-demonstrated than when an RAF Atlas completed a 22-hour non-stop, record-breaking flight for a turboprop from Oxfordshire, England, to the Western Pacific island of Guam. 

“The exercise took the Atlas over the Arctic Circle to the US military base in Guam using three RAF Voyager air-refuelling missions and showed how we can deliver air mobility anywhere in the world,” says RAF A400M pilot Flt Lt Lawrence Sutton, who took part in the July 2023 exercise. “The flight also demonstrated how the RAF can deliver heavy military equipment, troops or humanitarian aid to where it’s needed, and at pace.”

The Airbus A400M, which after 21 further deliveries to RAF Brize Norton since 2014, continues to prove popular among the RAF pilots who fly it.

“This is a modern military aircraft, designed with everything you need to perform the mission as a pilot,” says Flt Lt Sutton. “As pilots, we need to deliver on our missions in a manner that optimises our command requirements. A commander no longer has to choose between cargo or people; they can take a mixture of both and they can take that mixture however best suits the objectives.”

He adds: “Other fleets were having to limit what they could take and at what time of day; the performance of the A400M and its capabilities mean we are going fully loaded, all day, every day. We are not limited by the aircraft in our missions, which is a game-changer.”

Commander Air Wing, Group Captain McIntyre, agrees: “The Atlas has consistently demonstrated superior strategic capabilities and versatility for the many challenging missions faced by the RAF. Its range, altitude, speed, payload and tactical performance has proven invaluable in humanitarian missions over the past 10 years, including the Caribbean, Afghanistan, Sudan, Middle-East, not to mention protecting Europe’s Eastern flank and life-saving rescue missions in the South Atlantic.”

The A400M’s 37-tonne payload capacity and cargo-hold ability of up to 340 cubic metres enables the transportation of such sizeable equipment as the Chinook helicopter. The new generation technology and autonomous capability of Atlas enables a pilot to land on short, unprepared strips, such as grass and sand, with ease, demonstrating high levels of versatility and defying conditions that have presented constraints for previous tactical airlifters.

The A400M also has the ability to drop troops from both sides of the aircraft - high and low altitude - enabling two streams of paratroopers to jump. It means the aircraft can deploy troops, including special forces, in a shorter land area. The RAF has just completed the first stages of this capability.

Flt Lt Sutton said the A400M’s attributes can also be found in this paratrooper role and its ability to deploy 116 paratroopers from the rear ramp in freefall or through the paratroop side doors with automatic parachute opening. “The advancement of the paradrop is that it enables the delivery of troops into a shortened area, allowing them to be more concentrated and advancing their strategic positioning,” he explains, adding: “We have to be able to deliver them in a manner that optimises that ability for them. And this airframe delivers that in droves.”

Ben Bridge, Airbus Defence and Space UK Chairman, said: "Ten years is a significant achievement and Airbus looks forward to working with the RAF as part of Team Atlas for many years to come. "The A400M wings are designed and built in our factory in Filton, Bristol, and we are proud to support the many hundreds of jobs in the UK supply chain, as well as our RAF and Airbus teams at Brize Norton in carrying out the important missions they carry out every day."

The A400M ATLAS has proven it has been the backbone of RAF operations over the last 10 years, as Air Commodore Dan James was happy to point out at the RAF Brize Norton event on Thursday.  It celebrates 10 years in service with the RAF on 17 November 2024.