A400M facility revamp completed at RAF Brize Norton

Air November 23, 2016

Construction firm, Balfour Beatty, has recently completed work at RAF Brize Norton to develop a maintenance facility for the A400M, or Atlas.

The three-bay hangar will service the 22 A400M aircraft that are due to replace the RAF’s C130 Hercules, supporting the deployment of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force. At 45m long the aircraft can carry 25 tonnes of cargo for more than 2,000 nautical miles and has a wingspan of nearly 42.5 metres.

Image: The A400M hanger at RAF Brize Norton. Crown Copyright MoD 2016

The three-bay hangar has been redeveloped at a cost of £42M and has been designed to house three of the A500M’s as well as the C17 Globemaster and the A330 Voyager when static. Construction comprises a 28m high steel frame covering 24,000sq m and housing gantry cranes, aircraft ground equipment store and forward support stores including engine and tyre bays, while a three-storey office/amenities block has also been developed.

The roof houses 600sq m of solar panels to providing up to 70 kilowatts of electrical power.

The project has comprised three phases in total, with the first phase seeing a colony of great crested newts relocated and the provision of emergency water storage. Site mitigation, clearance and ground working made up the second £13.2M phase.

Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) will now complete a six month ‘fit out’ of the interior before the building becomes operational early next year.

The A400M is a tactical and strategic airlift aircraft that will enable the RAF to support all three services and be interoperable, whilst having the ability to operate from short, unprepared landing strips and also performing at both low level (150 feet (ft) above ground level) and high altitude (up to 40,000ft); ensuring the deployment of conventional and high readiness forces and equipment directly into the operational area.

Since coming into service in March 2015, the A400M has already provided mission support by flying operational cargo to RAF Akrotiri.

Denis Williams, DIO Project Manager, said: “The A400M Atlas will be the mainstay of the RAF’s air transport fleet so this hangar is a vital facility which will enable the aircraft to be maintained and repaired. I’m delighted to mark the completion of DIO’s role in this pan-defence project.”

Andy Duff, Balfour Beatty Delivery Unit (South) Managing Director, said: “We have extensive experience of working in the defence sector and at RAF Brize Norton.”