The Royal Air Drive has taken supply of the twenty second Atlas C1 (A400M) transport plane, finishing the supply improvement & manufacturing part. The four-engine turboprop plane touched down at its new residence of RAF Brize Norton from Seville the place the Atlas is assembled, together with wings made in the UK. Growth of the platform will proceed with plane biking via a retro-fit programme to succeed in an working configuration with vital commonality to that of the opposite A400M operators France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Benelux and Malaysia. In parallel, its tactical functionality will proceed to increase, together with the complete vary of assist to UK airborne forces. Since coming into RAF service in 2014, Atlas has repeatedly confirmed itself. It has excelled throughout aid operations within the Caribbean and contributed absolutely to the navy response to COVID, transporting sufferers, gear & vaccines.
“Being able at hand over the ultimate plane to the RAF was a fantastic honour and I’ve achieved so on behalf of your entire A400M group at DE&S who’ve labored tirelessly alongside our colleagues at Airbus, OCCAR and the RAF to ship this excellent plane. All of us may be rightly happy with our function in making certain the RAF can transport troops and gear the place wanted, each in assist of navy operations and significant humanitarian missions,” Nick Moore, Defence Gear and Assist mentioned.
“Latest occasions in Sudan have illustrated as soon as once more the significance of tactical air mobility. Working from an austere airfield Atlas helped evacuate over 2200 entitled personnel and fly them to security. The newest plane subsequently joins a fleet which is already confirmed on operations and utilised globally in assist of UK pursuits.” Atlas has a fly-by-wire flight management system and full glass cockpit. It could actually carry a 37-tonne payload over 2,000nm to each established and distant civilian and navy airfields. Its distinctive brief discipline efficiency permits it to function from brief un-prepared in addition to semi-prepared strips, all achievable while utilising evening imaginative and prescient goggles,” Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin CBE, Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group mentioned.
It performed a pivotal function within the evacuation of entitled personnel from Afghanistan and Sudan, and has supplied assist to UK Defence operations across the globe, together with the Center East, Falkland Islands, and Mali. As well as, Atlas helps enduring operations within the Center East and NATO Air Policing operations within the Baltic. Within the UK Atlas has a 24/7 nationwide standby dedication and supported the UK Border Drive with maritime reconnaissance (MRR) within the English Channel, long-range search and rescue (SAR) and overwatch. An Atlas can be primarily based within the Falkland Islands, offering MRR, SAR and medical evacuation within the South Atlantic, and with the good thing about air-air refuelling airdropping provides in Antarctica.
