Melsbroek,
Belgium 20 February 2024- To mark the delivery of the final A400M to Belgium, senior
level representation from all stakeholders were invited to Melsbroek Airbase,
the home of the 15th Air Transport Wing of the Belgian Armed
Forces.
OCCAR-EA Director Joachim Sucker and the A400M Programme Manager, Mr Philippe Bourgault,
as well as representatives from the AC acceptance team in Sevilla attended the
event to show their support for the strong and effective relationship between
OCCAR and Nations as the key to a successful aircraft delivery.
The
event commenced with a warm welcome of the Belgian Base Commander Colonel
Beeckmans, followed by speeches from the Belgian Minister of Defence Mrs. Ludivine
Dedonder and the Luxembourg Minister of Defence Mrs. Yuriko Backes. Both highlighted
the importance of their close cooperation in the A400M programme that can serve
as role model within the European Defence community. Additionally, both
Ministers emphasized the multirole capabilities of A400M, which have already
proven to be essential for various military missions. Such capabilities have
become even more important nowadays in the context of multiple crisis such as
the Ukraine war.
The
event was concluded with the traditional airplane christening of the AC to formally
introduce it into the BELUX fleet followed by a static display of the LU A/C
MSN104.
MSN133
is the 8th and final AC to be delivered to the Belgian and
Luxembourg Air Forces* from the current Development and Production contract. Acceptance
activities were launched in November 2023 and following a smooth delivery
process, contractual acceptance of the AC was completed at the Final Assembly
Line, in Seville, on 14th December 2023. The Ferry Flight of MSN133 from
Seville to Belgium took place on 11.01.2024 completing the delivery of the
BELUX fleet.
*Belgium
and Luxembourg (BELUX) combined to procure 8 Aircraft in total (7 BE, 1 LU),
with BE representing the interests of LU in the 6-Nation OCCAR Programme.