The Republic of Kazakhstan has placed an order for two Airbus A400M aircraft and becomes the ninth operator. joining Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Malaysia and Luxembourg.

With delivery of the first aircraft scheduled for 2024, the contract includes a complete suite of maintenance and training support. Together with the agreement an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has also been signed to collaborate on maintenance and overhaul (MRO) services and with a first step of creating a local C295 maintenance centre.

Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: ”The A400M will become the cornerstone of Kazakhstan’s tactical and strategic airlifting operations.

“This new export contract brings the total number of A400M orders to 176 aircraft, a figure that we expect to increase in the near future. With more than 100 aircraft delivered and 100,000 flight hours in operation, the A400M has proven its capabilities, reaching a state of maturity that many potential customers were waiting for.”

With the capacity to accommodate the country’s inventory and conduct military, civil and humanitarian missions, the A400M will enable Kazakhstan to quickly respond to any mission by rapidly deploying game-changing capabilities over long distances and enabling effective access to remote areas.