To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the delays to the A400M announced by Airbus Military. (268970)

The A400M is proving to be a challenging programme, and significant delay has been announced. The implications of these delays are being studied by the Nations and by OCCAR, and a strategy to engage with Airbus Military is under discussion between the partner nations.

As the full extent of these delays is not yet known, it is not possible to estimate what the cost might be.