The French air force christened its second A400M airlifter the City of Toulouse in honor of its birthplace, announced manufacturer Airbus Military. The Jan. 22 ceremony in Toulouse, France, came less than a month after the type’s operational debut in Mali. Although the A400M, dubbed Atlas, is a joint European project, both production aircraft thus far have gone to France. The first production airframe delivered its inaugural operational load, some 22 tons of supplies, to French forces in Mali on Dec. 29. French A400Ms are expected to reach full operational capability by the end of 2014, according to the French defense ministry. Also in December, Alenia Aermacchi test flew the first Royal Australian Air Force C-27J transport in Italy, announced the company. Alenia and US contractor L-3 are slated to deliver 10 C-27Js to Australia.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
