Airbus has awarded Thales a contract for two additional A400M military training simulators, to be delivered to the French and German air forces in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
As part of a long-standing relationship between the two companies, Airbus has awarded Thales a contract for a further two new A400M military training simulators (Nos. 7 and 8). The French and German air forces will receive the new simulators in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The two new simulators will enable A400M crews to train for complex missions such as in-flight refuelling and low-level tactical operations. Airbus has been delivering tactical-standard A400Ms since mid-2016.
Thales has already delivered five A400M full flight simulators (FFS) and two Flat Panel Flight Training Devices to France, Germany, the UK and the International Training Center in Sevilla. A sixth FFS will be delivered to Spain in 2018.
In the UK, A400M Training Services Ltd (ATSL), a joint venture company formed by Thales and Airbus, manages training, support services and maintenance at the training school at RAF Brize Norton under an 18-year contract signed in 2013. In 2017, the school has already trained over 24 pilots, 20 loadmasters and 204 engineers.
Thales is the only provider of A400M Flight Simulators through Europe’s organisation for the management of cooperative armament programmes (OCCAR).
In France, Thales is also an Airbus industrial partner for support operations at the Airbus A400M training centre on the French Air Force’s Orléans-Bricy 123 base.