{"id":41636,"date":"2017-12-01T15:26:02","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T15:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/01\/france-receives-its-first-a400m-fitted-with-pods-for-midair-refueling\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:25:48","slug":"france-receives-its-first-a400m-fitted-with-pods-for-midair-refueling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/12\/01\/france-receives-its-first-a400m-fitted-with-pods-for-midair-refueling\/","title":{"rendered":"France receives its first A400M fitted with pods for midair refueling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2015 France\u2019s procurement office has revealed it received its 12th A400M airlifter, which is the first in the European program to be fitted with two underwing pods for in-flight refueling of fighter jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Direction G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de l\u2019Armement (DGA) took delivery Nov. 22, 2017, the 12th A400M Atlas military transport aircraft, to be handed over to the Air Force,\u201d the DGA said in a Nov. 30 statement. The A400Ms already in service will have the fuel pod added as they undergo a retrofit over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest A400M will be flown to the air base at Orleans, south of Paris, in the next few days. France is due to receive a further three A400Ms by 2019, as set out by the 2014-19 military budget law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The A400M program still poses problems in fitting capabilities and cutting costs, Airbus said Oct. 31 in its nine-month financial results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, achievement of the contractual technical capabilities and associated costs remain highly challenging,\u201d the aircraft company said. The A400M program also faces \u201cchallenges\u201d in winning export orders on time, cutting costs, industrial efficiency and commercial exposure, \u201cwhich could impact the program significantly,\u201d Airbus said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talks continue with client nations and OCCAR, the European procurement agency, to \u201cde-risk\u201d the program, the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus Defence and Space is working to deliver two key capabilities sought by France, namely in-flight refueling of helicopters and dropping paratroopers from doors on both sides of the fuselage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus has signed a contract with Cobham for the British firm to build a hose for helicopter refueling, with a test flight expected toward the end of 2018, an Airbus spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t