The Spanish air force is set to launch an evaluation of its first Airbus Defence & Space A400M to have been equipped with a new, indigenously-developed directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) suite.

Supplied by Spanish company Indra, the InShield self-protection system was installed during a scheduled maintenance period, and has undergone certification by Madrid’s National Institute for Aerospace Technology.

A400M Spain

Source: Airbus Defence & Space

The Spanish air force will evaluate the indigenous InShield self-protection system for the A400M on aircraft MSN120

Announcing the step on 12 February, Airbus’s defence unit says the air force “will conduct an operational evaluation of the DIRCM [equipment] in the coming months to assess the solution’s performance and the possibility of integrating it across the rest of the fleet”.

The Spanish air force has a current active inventory of 14 A400Ms, operated by its 31st Wing from Zaragoza air base. Madrid will eventually have a 27-strong fleet of the type.

Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that the lead updated aircraft – MSN120 – was delivered to the service in May 2022.

European Defence Editor Craig Hoyle has reported on the UK, European and international military aviation sector for almost 30 years, and has also been the Editor of Flight International since 2015. He joined FlightGlobal in 2003, and also compiles our annual World Air Forces directory.View full Profile

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