Airbus A400M’s Automatic Low Level Flight capability, which is a key feature in military transport aircraft, has been certified.
The certification tests performed in April involved various operations at altitudes of as low as 500 feet (152 m), including air-to-air refuelling. While this first certification phase concerns operations with Visual Meteorological Conditions, the second phase, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, will include low-level flight missions conducted under Instrumental Meteorological Conditions.
Its Automatic Low-Level Flight capability improves A400M’s terrain masking and survivability, making the aircraft less detectable by air defence systems and less susceptible to threats during aerial supply, air-to-air refuelling and logistics operations or other special operations.
Turkey is one of the six countries participating in the A400M project, along with Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Spain. The Turkish Air Force, which took delivery of its first aircraft in 2013, currently has nine A400Ms in its inventory, with the remaining deliveries scheduled to be completed in early 2022 with the delivery of the 10th aircraft.