To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the projected in-service date was for the A400m aircraft in each year since 1997; (183128)

The projected in-service date for A400M aircraft, as one of the MOD’s highest value projects, is published annually in the Major Projects Report. At project approval in May 2000, the approved in-service date was December 2009. The projected in-service date was revised in March 2003 to March 2011 due to delay in contract activation. We are currently reassessing the projected in-service date in light of industry’s recent announcement that the programme is running six months late with additional risk of a further six months’ delay.