The RAF's strategic airlifter and one of the most capable military transport aircraft ever built. Four turboprop engines power this giant to jet-like speeds.
✈ Scan Your Sky NowThe Airbus A400M Atlas is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft that bridges the gap between tactical and strategic airlift. It can carry heavy military equipment — helicopters, armoured vehicles, field guns — to austere airstrips that larger strategic jets like the C-17 cannot access, while also being able to cruise at high altitudes and jet-like speeds.
The RAF operates 22 A400Ms from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where they replaced the older C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster in the strategic airlift role. The aircraft is regularly seen over southern England on training flights and operational missions, and is one of the more commonly spotted military aircraft on civilian flight trackers when it squawks a transponder code.
The A400M is one of the most striking aircraft in the sky. Four huge counter-rotating propellers — each with 8 blades — are immediately distinctive. No other transport aircraft in regular service has this configuration. The aircraft is large — comparable in size to a narrowbody airliner — but the high-set wings and turboprop engines give it a completely different appearance.
The counter-rotating propellers produce a distinctive sound — a deep rhythmic beat quite unlike conventional propellers or jet engines. At low altitude you can often hear an A400M well before you can see it. The camouflage grey scheme blends against most skies but the silhouette is unmistakable.