Airbus secures A400M order from Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan will become the ninth operator of the A400M heavy-lift tactical transport after Airbus announced that the nation had ordered two examples of the type on September 1. This deal also marks the first acquisition order for the platform since gearbox issues were discovered in May 2015.

With this order, Kazakhstan will join Belgium; France; Germany; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Spain; Turkey and the UK as the ninth operator of the A400M worldwide and just the second export customer of the type outside of Europe. Along with the two aircraft, the recently signed contract comes complete with a suite of maintenance and training support services. Kazakhstan is scheduled to receive its first A400M in 2024.