A400M receives renewed partner commitments, Thales to provide Satcom capability  

Airbus and OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation) have reached an agreement with the Airbus A400M launch nations of Spain and France to secure production for the program for the foreseeable future. Announced by Airbus at the Paris Air Show 2025,  the agreement aims to “improve the cost of operations and jointly develop new capabilities,” said an Airbus statement. Through the agreement, France and Spain stated their intention to advance four and three A400M aircraft, respectively, in their delivery schedule.

The A400M is a unique transport airlifter with strategic capabilities delivered to the point of need. Its large cargo hold enables the transport of most of the heavy and outsize loads of military and humanitarian aid equipment in service and to deliver it to unpaved airstrips. OCCAR is an international organization that manages collaborative defense equipment programs through their entire lifecycle. It was established to foster cooperation among European nations in the area of armaments. OCCAR currently has six member states of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 

With this further endorsement of the A440M program, Airbus said it will continue to “work on operational cost improvements through maintenance optimisation and efficiency measures, and make A400M future developments faster and more cost-effective, enhancing Europe’s defence capabilities and ensuring its strategic autonomy in air transport and mobility.”

AirbusIt is understood that through the agreement, both Airbus and OCCAR will review the industrial status of the program on an annual basis, giving the A400M production set-up stability to pursue the evolution of the platform and open export opportunities. Among these new capabilities, Airbus is already looking into developments like standoff jamming, payload increase to 40 tonnes, mothership for remote carriers, and firefighting capabilities.

With these advancements now at the forefront of the development process for the A400M, the partners aim to further widen the A400M applications, which they believe are key to the present and future global requirements for both current and future operators.

Thales’ involvement grows

Another key indicator of further investment and technological development of the A400M program is that Thales, the French defense specialist organization, has been selected by Airbus to supply the safety satcom system of the A400M aircraft program. Thales’s cockpit satcom system, the AVIATOR 700S, is described by the firm as the “most high-performance solution on the market for pilot communication systems, providing Viasat’s SB-S services and Inmarsat for military and commercial aviation.”

US Air Force“Communication via satellite enhances capabilities in communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS). Designed to meet the rigorous demands of military, government, air transport, business, and VIP platforms, this system will deliver critical data related to flight, navigation, and performance directly to the A400M cockpit. By expanding secure connectivity and reducing pilot workload, the Thales system boosts operational efficiency. Designed to meet the latest cockpit communication standards, Thales’s AVIATOR 700S system provides a sustainable solution to meet new requirements,” added a Thales statement.

This new contract between Airbus and Thales significantly broadens Thales’s role in the A400M program, for which it already provides avionics equipment such as avionics suites, head-up displays, and flight control units. It also provides an onboard mission system known as tactical air navigation (TACAN), as well as a radio management system, passenger address systems, and communication and navigation antennas.

What does Thales say?

The statement from Thales added. “Thales is proud to support Airbus Defence & Space with innovative solutions that enable the A400M to perform critical missions worldwide. The addition of the AVIATOR 700S safety satcom system reinforces Thales’ expertise in delivering cutting-edge connectivity solutions that reinforce mission performance and safety. The AVIATOR 700S also has a data channel outside the cockpit, for example, for civilian or military passengers, which can be used to send mission, observation, and operation data.

VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock“Airbus Defence and Space’s and Thales’ engineering teams have worked very closely to develop this satcom system that accurately meets the requirements of this program, “ added Nicolas Bonleux, Vice-President for Aerospace Communications, Thales. “Together, we have come up with a highly efficient system that enables the aircraft to fulfill very demanding missions. This new contract confirms our market leadership in terms of satcom systems for military transport platforms.”

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