Indonesia’s First A400M Takes Maiden Flight
INDONESIA’S first Airbus A400M military transport aircraft for the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has successfully completed its maiden flight in Seville, Spain with its scheduled delivery date before the end of 2025.
In a social media post, Airbus Defence and Space stated, “During the flight, the aircraft performed a range of manoeuvres to validate the aircraft’s handling and evaluate key systems. We’re already working on the second A400M for the Indonesian Air Force in our Final Assembly Line in Seville.”
The aircraft recently rolled out from the paint shop in June while the second aircraft for Indonesia is also making steady progress on the production line, recently achieving its first ‘power-on’, and is now undergoing hydraulic system testing and pilot simulation checks.
Indonesia placed an order for two A400Ms in 2021, a move which would enhance the country’s operational reach, supporting a wide range of missions including strategic and tactical airlift, medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance and aerial refuelling. With a payload capacity of up to 37 tonnes, the A400M can carry heavy equipment such as helicopters and military vehicles over distances of up to 2,400 nautical miles, and operate from short or unprepared airstrips – a vital capability for disaster relief operations in remote regions. Additionally, its role as a multi-platform refueling tanker further enhances the TNI-AU’s interoperability and mission endurance.
Indonesia also signed a letter of intent for potentially four more A400Ms. Upon its arrival, Indonesia would be the second operator of the A400M in Southeast Asia after Malaysia began operations with a fleet of four A400Ms since 2015 . The A400M has been delivered to nine countries to date, most recently to Kazakhstan and has accumulated more than 200,000 flight hours and carrying out various missions including humanitarian assistance.
Airbus also recently completed a series of test drops and demonstrations of its A400M firefighting demonstrator kit in Nîmes-Garons, France to independently assess the effectiveness of the firefighting kit.The test campaign, which ran at the end of April 2025, involved the A400M performing multiple drops over a designated section of the airfield.
The A400M Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) firefighting kit offers unique operational advantages previously unavailable on the market. Its innovative roll-on/roll-off design requires no permanent modification to the aircraft, allowing any A400M in a fleet to be rapidly converted for firefighting missions on very short notice. The system, housed in the cargo hold, can discharge up to 20,000 litres of water or fire retardant by gravity through the rear ramp, with tanks capable of being refilled in less than 10 minutes using standard ground pumps.
Furthermore, the A400M’s inherent ability to take off and land on short and unpaved runways significantly enhances its flexibility, enabling operations from a wide range of air bases and airfields closer to fire zones. Its design also supports high manoeuvrability and potential for day and night operations under the latest safety standards.
Airbus continues to promote a comprehensive range of aerial firefighting solutions that cover both indirect and direct fire attack missions, aligning with its commitment to decarbonisation and contributing to the fight against the escalating global challenge of wildfires. Firefighting capabilities are an extremely vital component of peacetime missions for A400M operators across the globe, a capability that can be achieved in 2 to 3 hours by installing the modular Ro-Ro firefighting kit onboard.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:AIRBUS)