Airbus and OCCAR Conclude A400M Restructuring

On the eve of the Paris Air Show, Airbus signed a contract amendment with OCCAR that agrees on revised program goals, schedule, and finances for the A400M airlifter. Representing the European launch customers for the aircraft—Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey, and the UK—OCCAR has been in negotiations with Airbus since March 2017 over the “global rebaselining” of the A400M program.

“The overall aim of the Global Rebaselining—both for Airbus as well as for OCCAR and the launch customer nations—was to recover a sustainable contractual basis for and to ensure a proper execution of the A400M program,” said Airbus Defence and Space CEO Dirk Hoke.

Key elements of the agreement, which was signed on June 14, include an adjusted timeframe to the provision of agreed capabilities for the aircraft; a new production delivery schedule that stretches production out to 2030, reducing financial exposure and allowing for the incorporation of any export sales into the production schedule; a new retrofit agreement to bring all delivered A400Ms to the final contractual standard; a revised financial retention mechanism that also maintains an incentive to complete development to the ultimate contractual standard; and a package of products and services as compensation for past late deliveries.