Assessing The A400M: Late, Over-Budget And Unreliable?

As the Ministry of Defence suspends flights of the RAF A400M Atlas following an incident involving one of the aircraft in Spain, Will Inglis looks at the aircraft's development from the start of production to this ill-fated flight.

The project, marred with delays and cost overruns, faced cancellation in 2010 and was only saved thanks to an intervention by European governments. It finally entered service in 2013.

So far, six NATO nations - Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey - have purchased A400Ms. The total order, worth €20bn, was the biggest single military contract for Airbus.