At the unique occasion of having the five Airbus Military A400M flight test aircraft in Toulouse all at the same time, the Airbus Military Flight Test team put in place a formation flight including all five aircraft, after which each aircraft continued its specific flight test activity.

This technical flight of the five Grizzlies, MSN1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, was crewed with Airbus Flight Test teams and no particular manoeuvres or tests were undertaken. Following the formation exercise, the different aircraft continued on their daily activity: MSN1 continued with handling quality tests, MSN2 with air-to-air refuelling wing pods hose stability tests, MSN3 with engine performance tests, MSN4 with pressurisation and oxygen tests and MSN6 with function and reliability tests.

The A400M is an all-new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world’s armed forces in the 21st century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed.

Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with a great survivability, the multipurpose A400M can do more with less, implying smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. The A400M is the most cost efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.