[MightyMasc]

On behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence, the OCCAR multinational organisation for the management of European Collaborative Defence programmes has placed an order with Airbus Military to supply the UK’s first A400M Full Flight Simulator (FFS). The contract, worth about £50 million, also includes a Simulator Support System (SSS), enabling the capabilities of the simulator to be fully exploited for flight training and military mission rehearsal. The simulator will be located at the RAF Brize Norton base, where all 22 UK A400Ms will be based, and will be delivered in spring 2014, ahead of the first delivery to the Royal Air Force later in 2014. The FFS will be maintained by a joint venture consisting of Airbus Military and Thales.