Has it finally started? SA cancel A400 order

[GOOSE]

From FlightGlobal

The EADS-led A400M airlifter has suffered its first orders blow since the programme ran into development difficulties, with South Africa having cancelled its order for eight of the aircraft.

Confirmed on 5 November, South Africa's decision comes after deliveries of the Airbus Military product have fallen around three years behind schedule.

The South African government says the decision was taken during a meeting in Cape Town on 4 November, and that its action was informed by an extensive review into the troubled acquisition.

Original article here - http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... ports.html

[GOOSE]

And from Defence news -


Malaysia's order for four Airbus A400M military planes will proceed but delivery will be delayed by at least three years to 2016, a senior official said Nov. 6.

The European aircraft manufacturer suffered a major blow Nov. 5 as South Africa cancelled a multi-billion dollar contract to buy eight aircraft because of delays and a huge cost rise.

South Africa and Malaysia were the only non-European orders for the A400M. Malaysia placed its order in 2005 for four planes originally due to be delivered in 2013.

Link here - http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =ASI&s=AIR

[GOOSE]

And finally, a bit from Jane's -

The chief executive of the UK Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) has warned that cancellation of the A400M military transport aircraft programme could have serious implications for the UK aerospace industry.

Speaking in London on 8 June, during the launch of SBAC's annual survey on the UK aerospace market, Ian Godden said that should Whitehall choose to scrap the troubled programme, the "possibility that the UK, in 15 to 20 years time, has a fully fledged composite wing manufacturing capability, will be reduced significantly", and that Germany and Spain would "pick up" the work, instead.

Jane's link - http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdi/j ... _1_n.shtml

[PR9]

Has the UK reduced it's original order as well?
I notice on UK serials that the serial allocations from ZM419 - ZM424 are now listed as "Canx".

http://www.ukserials.com/

[mrlongbow]

Heard a rumour that the UK is still going ahead with the purchase of the aircraft but is reducing the order to 19? aircraft from the original 25. If true then we have paid for 25 aircraft but decided to get 19! Or have we not paid?

[mrlongbow]

"Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. has agreed to take 19 A400M military aircraft instead of the originally ordered 25, while paying the same amount of money, French daily Les Echos reported, without citing anyone.Germany is refusing to renegotiate its A400M contract and French Defense Minister Herve Morin will discuss the issue with his new German counterpart Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the newspaper said.

There we have it. Good old UK

[RJ79]

Another reason why the country is in a mess, it's about time we got some kahuna's and stood up to everyone. We have an urgent demand for airlifters's, Airbus can't give us an A-400, we've got to retire the C-130K's and to not fill the huge void with anything is an absolute joke, scrap the entire order and order the C-17's. Any normal entity would realise there is a potential breach of contract with the constant slips by Airbus and wouldn't stand for it.........

Soapbox duly jumped off!!!!!