Selected for its unique experience of pylon manufacturing for Airbus aircraft, the Component Management Integration Team (CMIT) Pylon located in St Eloi, Toulouse is responsible for the design, development and production of the A400M Pylon. The architecture of the A400M pylon benefits from a very innovative design for which patents have been registered. This state-of-the-art structure will be made of titanium.

Mock-up of A400M inner left pylon

The first metal cut for the A400M pylon took place in November 2005 with the machining of two parts:

• The pylon front frame, the biggest piece in titanium ever forged in Europe
• The pylon nacelle under-wing attachment

A400M Pylon front frame

The assembly of the first A400M pylon will be ready at the end of April 2006 for delivery to the Flying Test Bed (FTB) in September 2006. The first four pylons will be transported to the A400M final assembly line in Seville in early January 2007 for integration into the first airframe.

MARSHALL AEROSPACE, located in Cambridge (UK), have been selected to provide the engine test bed. The contract with Marshall was signed in December 2004 and establishes that a TP400-D6 will be installed on a C-130 airframe for flight trials starting in 2006 and lasting 15 months.