Airbus Defence and Space, part of the Europe-based global giant Airbus aerospace group, announced on June 3 that it had finally completed the full industrial development of the paratroop deployment capability of its A400M military airlifter. The final step, successfully concluded last month, was the certification of the aircraft to drop 116 paratroopers, using both side doors (58 from each door simultaneously). 

“This certification completes a challenging journey to achieve this next generation capability,” reported Airbus Defence and Space CEO Dirk Hoke. “The achievement reinforces the strategic value the A400M already offers to air force operators and society, as demonstrated during Covid-19 times.”

Every A400M built contains South African-designed and and manufactured components, from Centurion-based private sector company Aerosud. (Centurion is immediately south of Pretoria.) Until recently, South African State-owned defence group Denel also provided structures for the A400M, but had to pull out of the programme because of Denel’s parlous financial situation.

The importance of the certification of the aircraft’s side doors for parachuting is that it is through these doors that static-line (automatic parachute opening) jumping can be done. Parachutists jumping from the aircraft’s open rear ramp (demonstrated and established long ago) must use the freefall technique, with manual parachute opening. For mass combat and combat training jumps, the automatic method is essential.

The final paratrooping final test programme took place last month and involved more than 1 000 parachute jumps, plus the use of “new capability development methodologies” (in the company’s words) employing recording and three-dimensional modelling of the trajectories of the jumping paratroopers. The programme was coordinated by the French Ministry’s General Directorate of Armaments and supported by the Belgian and French armed forces.

With this certification achieved, the A400M can now fully fulfil its potential as a paratrooping aircraft, dropping 116 paratroopers, two at a time, either from its side doors or (using free fall) its ramp. This announcement followed only a week after the company reported that the A400M had achieved certification of its automatic low level flight capability. 

Airbus pointed out that A400Ms have already been used by the French, German, Royal Malaysian and UK Royal Air Forces to support their national health authorities in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. These missions have included the transport of patients and the distribution of medical supplies.