Airbus A400M (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The media hail the (delayed by 2 years) maiden flight of the new European A400M military transport.
This film from the first flight and the technical details:
On the home page of Airbus A video is available from the maiden flight in Seville.
The high flying fortress house costs about € 1.36 million per unit, of the 180 at EADS, Europe's largest aerospace and defense group, pre-ordered aircraft ordered Germany alone 60!
The 15 m high and 45 m long military transport aircraft can carry tanks, helicopters and crews over 8700 km and will replace the smaller Transall, which only has a range of 1850 km.
The Bundeswehr has served as a transport aircraft of the Airbus A310, the Transall C-160D and the Challenger CL-601.
Now, therefore 60 Flying Fortresses in Germany for long-distance transport of troops and tanks. What just? The Bonner General-Anzeiger (v. 12./13.12.2009) states in response: "Especially for the mission in Afghanistan is the much larger turboprop aircraft required under normal load of 20 tons of troops and supplies a range of will have nearly 3,500 more than 8700 kilometers and Kilomtern. The delivery is, however, three to four years behind schedule are: France is to receive its first aircraft in 2013, Germany's then your turn. "
Now Obama wants to pull out of Afghanistan even as early as 2011 and would like to join our defense because in principle. Germany should therefore not be better to cancel the order of the 20 super-expensive military transport since 2013/2014 (after France had received the A400M) but the war in Afghanistan would be for three years past, and we'd put the money certainly better to direct civilian reconstruction programs. Or not?
The times and reasons surrounding the A400M can be several conclusions:
- It is a hoax.
- Unofficial know that the war in Afghanistan will take years and therefore already plans in the long run. The population will eventually be "kept on the shelf" with the purely fictitious "withdrawal date 2011" for the unpopular war.
- The long-range military transport aircraft has meant in truth not for Afghanistan but for other possible theaters of war. What could this be?
Tags: A400M , Afghanistan, EADS , Airbus Military
So it is:
- Hoax
- War in Afghanistan will take years, "withdrawal date 2011" Never durable
- Long-haul military transport A400M, must replace the Transall C-160D
The A400M is delayed because Airbus TurboProp previously had no experience. The payload, which will meet the A400M can only be achieved with a very light chassis - Problem: The vibration of the engines led to cracks in the outer shell. That was not too long to get a grip.
The A400M is when they should be delivered as fact, not meet performance targets. Germany ordered 405 copies of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV Marder successor) in July 2009 for 3.1 billion euros (largest single order in the defense industry after 1945) at the defense firm Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). According to the plans is intended that the A400M transport a cougar in the whole piece in the areas of application. Must now be broken down into three parts, the Puma transports, because no corresponding measure of weight or capacity of the A400M with the specifications.
To penalties for the defense industry is not expected. The contract was still under Scharping (SPD), we remember with much scolding closed amateurish.
The somewhat dated, the Transall C-160D truck needed a successor, I do not question it. However, the technical data on the A400M, a very different range of applications than ever to depict the Transall. Was the Transall still designed for use over Europe (1850km range), to the A400M (range 3500-8700km) can already operate globally.
There will be a device for interventions.
This is confirmed by the low flying characteristics of the A400M. The A400M is highly accurate and has never been collected in this form provides navigation data that will allow low-level flight at night in 50 meters height above ground in the crisis areas of the world.
Which justify the Federal Government of Germany's € 2 trillion in debt, these sums to defense spending, I can only describe as 'criminal'. Without question, thousands of jobs in the defense industry. But if they ask what time the physicist devil who builds, he often says only that he tüfftelt Mirko on his behalf and whether war is far away, so he had nothing to do.
Sure Berlin also plays with the intention of making the A400M as a showpiece of German military technology to other nations of interest.
There is a shop with the stuff of life and death. Once the oil is running out, no longer fly the A400M.
Ha! There will be purchased for cost reasons, so only 30 - will be sold 14 of them!
The armed forces would need but 96 machines (32 each for 3 Squadron).
The high flying fortress house costs about € 1.36 million per unit; ...
1.36 million each? So that, what I call a bargain! : Lol: That would be my Vorkommentator According to actual need 96 machines ... € 130.56 million - today, at the end of 2011, one has to wonder whether with such a low unit as 'millions' in politics at all expected is? Tempora mutantur ...: cry: