Airbus Defence and Space has delivered the first A-400M aircraft for the Republic of Kazakhstan to become the cornerstone of the country’s tactical and strategic airlift operations.

The first of two airplanes ordered by Kazakhstan was handed over to the customer at a ceremony in Almaty, south Kazakhstan, after a ferry flight from its A-400M Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Seville, southern Spain, a few days earlier.

With the delivery of this aircraft, production number MSN139, Airbus will also provide a full range of maintenance and training support.

To date, more than 130 units have been delivered to nine countries and have accumulated 200,000 flight hours, participating in missions such as the evacuation of civilian and military personnel from Afghanistan, Sudan and Niger. Combining the capabilities of both tactical and strategic aircraft, the model can transport heavy and outsized cargo on to short, unprepared airstrips, flying at low altitudes or dropping up to 116 paratroopers or 25 tonnes of cargo.