Europe’s most expensive military program, the A400M airlifter, has once again impacted Airbus’ financial results in 2024.
According to the manufacturer, the aircraft consumed 121 million euros in losses last year, leading to a total cost of 10 billion euros for the program since it was launched more than 20 years ago.
And the outlook has not been optimistic to the point that the company is evaluating the production of the aircraft in light of the uncertainty of orders.
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Officially, the A400M has 178 aircraft ordered from 10 countries, but some of them are reducing their contracts or postponing delivery.
France, the largest operator of the four-engine turboprop, has 24 of them in service, but has extended future deliveries while the United Kingdom and Germany have cut orders.
There are currently 48 aircraft in the backlog, while annual production at the Seville plant in Spain is eight A400Ms per year. However, only seven aircraft were produced by 2024.
Larger and smaller rivals
The A400M offers a unique capability among tactical transport aircraft, with a maximum payload of 37 tons, operation on short, unprepared runways and a high cruise speed for a turboprop, of 422 knots at an altitude of 31,000 feet.
With this performance, the Airbus aircraft competes for orders with the Boeing C-17, a larger, more expensive and limited jet, and also with smaller airlifters such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J and the Embraer C-390 Millennium.
The A400M is in the running for some important tenders, such as the Indian Air Force, which aims to order 40 to 80 aircraft under the MTA program.
During IDEX 2025, Airbus offered the military freighter to the United Arab Emirates, which may order eight to ten aircraft. To attract the country, the company offered partnerships in the production and support of the A400M, a practice that has been common in the segment.
The Middle East, as well as the Americas and Africa, are regions where the turboprop has not yet won over customers.
Of the 178 orders, 170 came from Europe. France and Germany, Airbus’s largest partners, have 103 orders together.
