Germany told of 18-month A400M delay

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Germany told of 18-month A400M delay
Reuters, Friday November 28 2008

 * Procurement agency wants Airbus timetable clarification
* OCCAR does not expect maiden flight before next summer
* EADS reiterates no firm date for test flight, delivery
(Rewrites, adds EADS statement)
By Sabine Siebold
BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - European arms chiefs want Airbus parent EADS to break its silence over the timetable for the delayed A400M airlifter and are estimating it will be 18 months late, according to a German government document seen by Reuters.
The 20 billion euro project to provide airlift capacity to seven European NATO countries has been postponed indefinitely by Airbus Military as the planemaker and its engine producers argue over the blame for flaws in the plane's turbo-prop power system.
Since delaying the first flight in September, EADS has declined to say when the aircraft, which was already running 6-12 months late, would be ready, saying it was at the mercy of the performance of its engine suppliers.
OCCAR, the procurement agency which placed the record European defence order for 180 A400M planes in 2003, is pressing EADS to be more transparent, according to a report provided to opposition politicians by the German government.
"It was made clear to the supplier (Airbus) that a complete reporting of the project situation is the unavoidable basis for continuing this project," the report said.
The comments were contained in a German government response to a query from the opposition Free Democrats. The document was obtained by Reuters on Friday.
The 2003 order for 180 planes by OCCAR was Europe's biggest single arms purchase contract. OCCAR helps manage armament contracts for the biggest European economies.
The report said OCCAR does not expect the maiden flight of the plane before next summer. It was originally scheduled in January 2008 before a series of delays that culminated in EADS withdrawing any published target date in September.
Three weeks ago, Germany's Defence Ministry said it expected a delay of over 12 months to the first flight of the A400M.
The document said that Airbus Military sees problems with other parts of the plane as well as the engines, which are made by a consortium led by Rolls-Royce and Safran.
Industry sources have told Reuters there are unidentified problems with the tail structure of the aircraft.

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