A nation ’s military does more than fend for sovereignty . Most also act as as first responders , delivering humanitarian aide to disaster victims . But , as Hurricane Katrina evidence in the US , obtain supplies into areas affected by natural disasters ( or even forward operate fundament ) is far easy enunciate than done . That ’s why a collaboration of European nations have spent more than a decade developing a heavy transport plane fit for the 21st century , the Airbus A400 M Atlas .
The A400 M Atlas is a four - locomotive propjet transport aircraft designed by Airbus as a tactical lift platform . It measures 148 feet long and 48 feet grandiloquent with a 139 - foot wingspread , putting it forthright between the C-130 and the C-17 in terms of sizing and speed ( but still right smart smaller than theAntonov An-225 ) . A quartet of 11,000 HP Europrop TP400 - D6 turboprop engines and four 8 - bladed 17 metrical foot - diameter “ scimitar ” prop grant the carpenter’s plane a 485 MPH cruise hurrying , a armed service ceiling of more than 37,000 groundwork and a range of 1,781 to 3,450 nmi , depending on the load . That ’s over 100 MPH faster and 1,000 nautical mile far than the C-130 Hercules . Plus , the Atlas ’ beefy power works , compound with its reinforce landing gear and lightweight carbon fiber reinforce charge plate annexe and rotors , allows it to take off from poor , unpaved runways in as little as 3,215 base ( 980 meters ) .
https://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-largest-cargo-plane-can-swallow-a-737-whole-511093454
Interestingly , the A400 M ’s propeller are designed to turn in opposite way . This not only reduces maintenance and replacement monetary value ( most turbo airplane propeller plane have left- or right - handed engines depending on which annexe they go on ; this use a gear case to only turn the blades backwards so the engine themselves become universal ) , it also produces superscript lift , contract torsion , property lavation , and yaw equate to the sure-enough designs where both engine on each wing turned the same focus .
Most telling is the new plane ’s cargo capacity . At 81,600 pounds ( 116 paratroops or 66 stretchers with 25 attending medick ) at 58 feet prospicient , 13 infantry wide , and 12 feet tall , it bear roughly double what the Hercules can . In accession , the Atlas is outfitted with aeriform refueling equipment , allowing it to be used as aflying throttle post , and can also be outfit with a variety ofelectronic surveillance and countermeasuresfor ISR mental process .
https://gizmodo.com/the-militarys-new-flying-gas-station-will-be-open-24-7-484398864
To command this very large , very heavy plane without sacrifice maneuverability , speed , or EL , the Atlas ’ three - someone crew bank on a fell - by - wire flying control scheme exchangeable to that found in the B-2 Stealth Bomber . All apt flight data is displayed in the glass cockpit — digital showing rather than traditional parallel gauges . Multi - Colour Infrared Alerting Sensor ( MIRAS ) missile admonition sensors have also been integrated into the plane ’s countermeasure systems .
While the prostration of the Soviet Union and disagreement between the partner nations of France , Germany , Italy , Spain , the United Kingdom , Turkey , Belgium , and Luxembourg have slowed the development of the craft over the preceding decennium , Airbus is under contract to produce more than 200 A400Ms at a pace of 30 per year . Initial deliveries are expected to set about after this year once the woodworking plane has stop its final bout of flight examination . And when they do , the sky will be that much safer . [ Defense Talk – Wikipedia1,2 ]
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