Europrop International has delivered its first flight-test engine for the delayed Airbus Military A400M transport, ahead of the almost 11,000shp (8,200kN) powerplant's integration with a Lockheed Martin C-130K testbed by the UK's Marshall Aerospace.
Pictured after arriving at Marshall's Cambridge airport site on 19 November, the TP400-D6 engine will soon be mated with the modified Hercules and have its Ratier-Figeac eight-blade propellers integrated. The company expects to announce further details shortly on its revised flight-test schedule, which had originally been planned to start earlier this year.
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© Marshall Aerospace |
EADS in late October announced a delay of up to one year to the start of A400M deliveries to launch user the French air force, with the late availability of the TP400 turboprop cited as a key cause of the problem.
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© Airbus Military |
The EPI consortium - which comprises European companies ITP, MTU Aero Engines, Rolls-Royce and Snecma - recently announced the appointment of Snecma chief executive Phillippe Petitcolin as non-executive chairman, as part of a management reshuffle intended to get the troubled engine programme back on track.