A400M Airbus delivered to the French air force

The smiles of European leaders in the delivery of the first unit of a new military transport plane to France not hid the four years late and a slippage of 5 billion euros.

The A400M has begun to be planned for thirty years and was built by Airbus Military to respond to the needs of seven NATO countries: Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Great Britain, Luxembourg and Turkey.

In Seville, the French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, received the keys to the plane. "To receive a whole new plane in the air force is a rare event for a Minister of Defense. The last time that happened was 13 years, "he said.

The total cost was at least 25 billion euros, but the project partners hope to collect "royalties" to compensate for the expense. The recent decision by Boeing to stop production of the C17 can play in favour of the A400M that already has more than 170 units ordered.

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