European Aircraft Industry: Airbus Begins A400M Deliveries to Turkey, Hopes for more Exports

Airbus Military Transport A400M

Airbus Military, the multinational consortium that builds the A400M, will soon deliver the first airlifter to the Turkish military, consortium and Turkish officials said.

The first Turkish A400M will operate at an air base in Kayseri in central Turkey.

“The first aircraft for the Turkish military will be delivered in the coming weeks,” Tom Enders, CEO of EADS, Airbus’ parent company, said at a Sept. 30 ceremony here for the delivery of the first A400M for the French Air Force.

Turkey’s chief procurement official, Murad Bayar, said Oct. 2 that the first Turkish A400M would arrive this month. He said Turkey will receive 10 aircraft in the next two to three years.

Bayar said the A400M program would cost Turkey $1.5 billion, and the same amount of money would go to the country’s local industry in work share.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is manufacturing the main fuselage for all 174 A400Ms to be produced as part of this international program. Turkey, a 5.5 percent shareholder of the program, hopes business for local companies will increase as more aircraft are produced for export markets, Bayar said.

French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said the export potential for the A400M is “huge,” as the project, estimated at a total value of $27 billion, began delivering aircraft to its founding nations after years of delays.

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