Airbus A400M Transporter Plane Nears Takeoff .

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735004574569712739616656.html

 

The A400M is one of Europe's most ambitious defense projects. Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. agreed in May 2003 with seven countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to build 180 of the planes for €20 billion ($30 billion). Both sides hailed the deal as a model of Europe's integration and a sign of European savvy in the cutthroat aerospace industry. EADS promised to deliver the first A400M this year and swallow any budget overruns.

 

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Despite the program's troubles, it has a trump card: Militaries need airlift. The world's only other big military-transport planes are U.S. models, but Boeing's jet-powered C-17 is too big for most countries, while the updated C-130 from Lockeed Martin Corp. is too small