A400M Atlas
ICAO A400Airbus's four-turboprop airlifter, flown by most of western Europe. See which Atlas airframes are airborne right now and who is flying them.
Flying right now
Live · 30sAirframe
- Manufacturer
- Airbus Defence and Space
- Role
- Tactical and strategic airlift
- Class
- L4T — Landplane, 4 turboprop engines
- Crew
- 3 — two pilots and a loadmaster
- First flight
- 11 December 2009
- In service
- 2013
Operators airborne
About the A400M Atlas
The A400M sits deliberately between the C-130 and the C-17: it lifts far more than a Hercules and can still use a short unpaved strip, which no C-17 operator would attempt casually. That middle ground is why European air forces bought it to replace both the C-160 Transall and their older Hercules fleets.
It is the most European aircraft on this site. France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Belgium and Luxembourg are the launch operators, with Malaysia and Kazakhstan outside Europe. If you are watching from the Netherlands or Germany, this is a type you will see overhead rather than only on a screen.
Its eight-bladed propellers turn in opposite directions on each wing — the blades sweep downward between the two engines on a side. It is an unusual arrangement, done to cut the structural load on the wing, and it gives the aircraft an unmistakable sound.
Callsign prefixes
- RRR
- Ascot — Royal Air Force
- CTM
- Cotam — French Air and Space Force
- GAF
- German Air Force
- AME
- Spanish Air and Space Force
- BAF
- Belgian Air Force
How to recognise it
- —Eight narrow scimitar blades per propeller — no other transport has this.
- —A swept wing, which is rare on a turboprop and makes the aircraft look faster than the propellers suggest.
- —Upswept rear fuselage with a high T-tail, and a notably tall main undercarriage.
Common questions
+ Which countries fly the A400M?
France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Belgium and Luxembourg among the original partners, plus Malaysia and Kazakhstan. The operator column in the live table above is derived from each aircraft's ICAO address block.
+ Is the A400M a replacement for the C-130?
For several air forces, yes — the UK retired its Hercules fleet in favour of it. It carries roughly twice the payload over a much longer range, though it is a substantially more expensive aircraft to operate per sortie.
+ Why do the propellers turn in different directions?
On each wing the inboard and outboard propellers rotate opposite ways, so the blades descend between the two engines. It balances the torque on the wing and removes the asymmetric handling problem an engine failure would otherwise cause.