France, Germany and Sweden are building new tactical cargo planes
MADRID ($ 1 = 0.97 Euro) – Paris, Berlin and Stockholm will build a new European transport aircraft under Future Mid-size Tactical Cargo [FMTC] program. It is one of the fourteen projects included in the fourth wave of the European Union’s permanent structured cooperation [PESCO] initiative and was therefore already known since November last year, although now the three participating countries have agreed on the launch.
The alliance is open to new partners and indeed “it is possible that other countries will join soon,” revealed by the French Air Force and space force [AAE].
The launch of the program was signed two weeks ago, using the European Wings meeting, at the French air base Orléans-Brissi, although the French Ministry of Defense announced it days later.
The event welcomed a dozen Air Force Chiefs of Staff and European civilian and military authorities mentioned in this framework [European Wings]outlined to “demonstrate the strategic importance of air resources for the European Union’s crisis management operations, the need to ensure access to contested airspace and the need for cooperation to increase air strength, especially at the upper end of the spectrum, in favor of freedom of action for EU and NATO missions”.
In this context, the FMTC program agreement was signed on 23 June, which the official French source described as “a tactical transport aircraft project that will replace the C-130 Hercules and Casa CN-235 by 2040.”
Complete the A400M
The goal of the FMTC project, according to PESCO, is “to increase the airworthiness of the armed forces of EU Member States”. With the, “it strives to complement the missions of the A400M, even on narrow and short unprepared runways, to collectively and effectively meet the next transport challenges in military operations or crisis management situations.”
This Agreement, with the support of the European Defense Agency [EDA], “makes it possible to determine which aircraft are intended to operate in addition to the A400M fleet from 2040,” according to the information from AAE.
This signing “marks an important first step for the FMTC project to converge towards more precise common specifications.” Subsequent industrial feasibility studies may lead to the development of new aircraft starting around 2026 and 2027.
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