# UK MoD Extends Airbus A400M Support

The UK Ministry of Defence extended Airbus’s maintenance, repair, and support services for the Royal Air Force’s 22-aircraft A400M fleet under a 31-month, £190 million ($250 million) award announced in October 2026. The extension continues support at RAF Brize Norton through April 2029 and sets a target of increasing daily mission-ready aircraft from 10 to 13 by the end of 2027; it is an incumbent award, not a new open solicitation, and sustains more than 350 UK jobs.

- The award gives Airbus continued responsibility for A400M fleet sustainment, with aircraft availability as a stated performance objective.
- Procurement teams and contractors should distinguish this extension from a new competition; the award does not identify an open bidding opportunity.
- Firms tracking RAF sustainment work can use the 30% availability target and support period through April 2029 as context for the scale and duration of this fleet-support requirement.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Transportation
**Published:** October 05, 2026

### Government Entities
- UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)
- Royal Air Force (RAF)
- National Armaments – Materiel

### Vendors
- Airbus (awardee)

### Key Quotes
> This contract will deliver continued improvements in A400M fleet availability, building on the growth that we have delivered over recent years and giving our armed forces the capability they need.
> — Air Commodore Simon Young, head of air mobility

### Sources
- [A new maintenance and support deal with Airbus aims to grow the availability of the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) A400M airlifter fleet by 30%.

https://t.co/i8h8hSuYRq

@AirbusDefence @RoyalAirForce #Airbus #A400m #multimission #RAF](https://x.com/AviationWeek/status/2106110476669075952) - twitter-defense
- [The UK will increase the number of mission-ready A400M Atlas transport aircraft available each day by 30 percent under a $250-million contract with Airbus

https://t.co/0zsTD9w91k](https://x.com/DefensePost/status/2107123654186430649) - twitter-defense