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#2556· ICAO A400

Airbus A400M Atlas

🇪🇸 Spain ·first flew 2009· strategic/tactical airlift / aerial refueling

📦 cargo 4× turboprop ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. EC-402 - A400M - Airbus industrie - TLS - En finale sur 32L - 04550-2: Dval027· CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. 2. 54+22 (aircraft): Gunnar Ries zwo· CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. 3. A400M - RIAT 2013 (9360601998): Tim Felce (Airwolfhound)· CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. 4. A400M Beach Landings MOD 45162698 (cropped): Andrew Linnett· OGL v1.0
  5. 5. A400m flaps down: Benurs· CC BY-SA 2.0
  6. 6. Airbus A-400M Atlas (19751904980): Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford and Largs, United Kingdom· CC BY 2.0
  7. 7. Airbus A400M Atlas of the Spanish Air Force (code EC-400) arrives RIAT Fairford 18July2019 arp: Myself ( Adrian Pingstone ).· Public domain
  8. 8. German Air Force Airbus A400M (out cropped): Peng Chen· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. German Luftwaffe Airbus A400M of LTG 62 refuels Boeing FA-18E Super Hornet of VFA-211 over the Agean Sea on 3 March 2022 (220303-N-NO874-1006): U.S. Navy· Public domain
  10. 10. Mobility Guardian (Image 37 of 37) A French Air Force A400M Atlas performs multiple airdrops at Yakima Training Center: Christopher Dyer· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Airbus A400M Atlas, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Dval027· CC BY-SA 3.0

what is it?

The Airbus A400M Atlas is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The A400M is sized between the C-130 and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. It can carry heavier loads than the C-130 and can use rough landing strips.

How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · shoulder wing · retractable tricycle gear · 42.4 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 750 km/htop speed
  • range 3,300 kmwithout refuelling
  • seats 116passengers
  • size 141 tmax take-off weight
  • built 80made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 17 years ago, in 2009.
  • Top speed is 5.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 42.4 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 24 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Range of 3,300 km: 18× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight
2009-12-11
introduced
2013
status
still flying
number built
80
role
strategic/tactical airlift / aerial refueling
origin
🇪🇸 Spain
makers
Airbus Military
engines
4× Europrop TP400-D6 / Europrop TP400
crew
3
passengers
116
length
45.1 m
wingspan
42.4 m
height
14.7 m
max take-off weight
141 t
top speed
750 km/h
cruise speed
781 km/h
range
3,300 km
ceiling
12,200 m
wings
shoulder wing
landing gear
retractable tricycle gear
ICAO code
A400

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q6496, Wikipedia: Airbus A400M Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0), ICAO code from list of aircraft type designators.Updated 2026-10-24.

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