The A400M roll-out ceremony

The A400M roll-out ceremony took place in Seville, Spain, last June 26. French weekly L’Usine Nouvelle explains how Carlos Suarez, managing director of Airbus Military and CEO of EADS-Casa, spends most of his time working on the A400M military transport aircraft programme. In spite of delays and cost overruns plaguing the European-scaled project, Mr Suarez celebrated the plane’s official roll-out last June 26 as an example of successful European cooperation. “This plane has been a wonderful venture, and history has shown that no obstacle put on our way has been insurmountable”, he declared. The A400M is one of the most complex aircraft in its category, points out L’Usine Nouvelle, as it is made of composites at 35% and equipped with the world’s most powerful engines (11,000hp). The next challenge for Mr Suarez will be to oversee the production of the A400M and its progressive ramp-up to reach between 20 and 30 aircraft per year from 2011-2012. Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia features a special report on the A400M, which it calls the “Seville Hercules”. This project will revitalise Andalusia’s aerospace industry, assesses the daily. L’Usine Nouvelle, Paris Match, La Vanguardia