Von der Leyen, who this month announced plans to expand German troop strength for the first time since the end of the Cold War, is looking at leasing or even buying aircraft from competitors to meet the country’s needs, said a senior ministry official who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
The ministry has asked Airbus to outline the problems with the A400M and the length of time each fix will take, said Jens Flosdorff, her chief spokesman.
"Until then we are of course checking all alternative scenarios," Flosdorff said. "The contracts clearly say that Airbus would have to pay compensations for such delays."
The country, the largest customer for the aircraft, has thus far received just three planes, and a schedule that called for the country to receive nine in 2016 is in question amid technical problems including fuselage cracks and faulty engine gearboxes.
The A400M -- first ordered by Germany, six other European nations and Turkey back in 2003 -- is already more than four years late and 5 billion euros ($5.57 billion) over budget. Germany currently relies on more than 40-year-old planes to meet its needs.
Mission Critical
The country’s biggest foreign engagements at the moment are in Afghanistan with 950 soldiers, in Kosovo with 664 and Mali with 312, and being able to swiftly move troops and heavy equipment is critical for such missions. While Germany still has a fleet of Lockheed-built Transalls, or C160s, the planes, developed in the 1960s, are old and expensive to repair. The three A400Ms it does have are still unable to meet military requirements such as refueling helicopters or returning fire when under attack.
“It becomes clearer every day that we will definitely need a temporary solution,” Hans-Peter Bartels, Germany’s parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, said in an interview. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Bloomberg News website.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The A400M’s latest troubles come at a particularly bad time for Germany and other partner nations, as the only plausible alternative, the Boeing C-17, had its production line closed down last year for lack of orders.
Although much superior to the obsolete Transall, the Lockheed C-130J is insufficient in terms of payload and range, and was recently ordered by France in special transport and tanker versions only for special forces missions.
A possible alternative is the Ukrainian Antonov An-70, which although politically attractive would require a major investment and would create a competitor to the A400M.
To meet its airlift needs, Germany can also access NATO’s Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS), which operates six chartered Antonov An-124-100 transports, and the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) project, under which ten NATO countries plus Finland and Sweden have purchased three Boeing C-17s based in Hungary.)
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