Airbus A400M military airlifter gets a lifeline from Europe

[AVIATOR]

The Airbus A400M



Airbus got a lifeline on Friday for its troubled A400M military airlifter program when ministers from seven European governments agreed to continue to support its development.

The A400M is being designed to replace existing cargo planes that air forces use around the world. Airbus says it represents the "new airlifter of the 21st century," but development delays have put the program $7 billion over budget and four years behind schedule.

Defense ministers meeting in Le Castellet, France, hailed from France, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey.

The wild card in the negotiations was Britain, which had been feared to drop out of the project, according to the New York Times.

"We hope to save the program. We have decided to open a renegotiation," British defense procurement minister Quentin Davies told Reuters.

In March, the governments had agreed to a moratorium on cancellations. That moratorium ended in July, reports Dow Jones. Now, the governments have until the end of 2009 to renegotiate the contract.

The European governments have collectively ordered 180 of the planes, "making it the largest-ever European military contract," the Times reports. The contract is worth 20 billion euros ($27.7 billion).

"EADS and Airbus are fully committed to finding an agreement that is technically and contractually acceptable to both sides," Airbus's parent company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., said Friday in a statement.

[F-111 C/C]

Looks like a new and improved C-130. Funny this day and age they stayed with a Turbo-prop engine.

[AVIATOR]

It appears Aard that the turbo prop is the most efficient engine available for low speed transport aircraft.

 Many low speed transport aircraft and small commuter aircraft use turboprop propulsion.
 The turboprop uses a gas turbine core to turn a propeller. Propeller engines develop thrust by moving a large mass of air through a small change in velocity. Propellers are very efficient and can use nearly any kind of engine to turn the prop. In the turboprop, a gas turbine core is used.



There are two main parts to a turboprop propulsion system, the core engine and the propeller. The core is very similar to a basic turbojet except that instead of expanding all the hot exhaust through the nozzle to produce thrust, most of the energy of the exhaust is used to turn the turbine. There may be an additional turbine stage present, as shown in green on the diagram, which is connected to a drive shaft. The drive shaft, also shown in green, is connected to a gear box. The gear box is then connected to a propeller that produces most of the thrust. The exhaust velocity of a turboprop is low and contributes little thrust because most of the energy of the core exhaust has gone into turning the drive shaft.

Because propellers become less efficient as the speed of the aircraft increases, turboprops are used only for low speed aircraft like cargo planes.
High speed transports usually use high bypass turbofans because of the high fuel efficiency and high speed capability of turbofans. A variation of the turboprop engine is the turboshaft engine. In a turboshaft engine, the gear box is not connected to a propeller but to some other drive device. Turboshaft engines are used in many helicopters, as well as tanks, boats, and even race cars in the late 1960's.

[valkyrian]

I totally agree with you Avi and i would like to point out the Tu 95 Bear, which achieved higher subsonic speeds despite the fact it used props!!!!

[AVIATOR]

Cheers Val. He's a pic I found.

An F-15 Eagle from the 12th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base flies next to a Russian Tu-95 Bear Bomber Sept. 28 during a Russian exercise that brought the Bear near the west coast of Alaska. The Eagle took off as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command's reaction to this training opportunity provided by the Russian 137th Air Army.

[valkyrian]

Hi Avi! It seems that you have a picture for every ocassion!!!

Really, the turboprop is a very efficient solution.
I once heard that Tornados cannot keep up with Bears unless they use a/b (!).

(Now are you going to post a pic of a Tornado and a bear? )

[AVIATOR]

Yes Val..........LOL

In an exercise reminiscent of the Cold War, a pair of Russian TU-95 Bear bombers recently flew a mission toward the UK and were intercepted first by Norwegian F-16s then RAF Tornados.

[valkyrian]

LOL! I saw it coming Avi.......watch this

[AVIATOR]

That old plane was flying in the black and white days Val.