What's in a Name - From a Grizzly Beginning to Carrying the World

摘要

Colloquially known as the Grizzly by Airbus Military flight test crew and engineers, the A400M has been given a new name. In a special ceremony held at the Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, on July 6 senior defence officials gathered for the official naming of the Airbus Military A400M as Atlas. Grizzly it seems, was deemed inappropriate. The UK is buying 22 of the aircraft with the first one expected to be delivered to the RAF in 2014. The aircraft will eventually replace the RAF's existing C-130Ks and C-130Js and along with the Voyagers and C-17 Globemasters, it will complete the UK's future air transport fleet operating from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The Atlas is able to carry twice as much as the Hercules; in total it can transport 32 tonnes of cargo over a range of 4,500km (2,800 miles) it can move up to 116 paratroopers, large armoured vehicles such as Mastiffs, as well as a vast amount of humanitarian and disaster relief. Operationally, Atlas will be able to land on semi-permanent runways and rough ground and therefore will be able to fly cargo directly into the centre of operations, supplying tactical forward bases. The UK is one of seven nations that will purchase Atlas from Airbus Military.