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The Ministry of Defence has extended its maintenance contract with Airbus for the RAF's A400M Atlas transport fleet, in a £190 million deal announced on 1 October 2026. The government says the extension will improve fleet availability by 30% and keep more than 350 jobs in the UK.
The work is carried out from Airbus's UK Support Centre at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The Ministry of Defence described the A400M Atlas as a cornerstone of the UK's air mobility capability.
At a glance
- The Ministry of Defence has extended its contract with Airbus to maintain the RAF's A400M Atlas fleet in a deal worth £190 million.
- The number of fully mission capable A400M aircraft available each day is due to rise from 10 to 13 by the end of 2027.
- The extension runs for 31 months, with support services continuing until April 2029.
- The contract sustains more than 350 UK jobs, including over 240 Airbus staff and 110 primary subcontract staff.
- The government links the deal to the Defence Investment Plan, which it says commits £298 billion to UK defence over the next four years.
What the £190 Million Airbus Contract Extension Covers
Airbus will carry on providing maintenance, repair and support services for the Atlas fleet under what the Ministry of Defence calls the Medium Term Contract. The department says the 31 month extension takes that support through to April 2029.
The headline number is availability. Today the RAF can put 10 fully mission capable A400M aircraft into service on any given day. The extension is set to push that to 13 by the end of 2027. Three more aircraft out of ten is where the 30% figure comes from. The government describes it as an improvement in availability for the RAF's tactical and strategic airlift fleet.
Availability matters because the Atlas is the aircraft the RAF leans on for a wide spread of tasks. According to the Ministry of Defence, it supports operations ranging from humanitarian relief to rapid troop deployment. An aircraft in the hangar cannot do either, so the number cleared to fly on a given day is a more telling measure than the size of the fleet on paper.
Air Commodore Si Young, Head of Air Mobility at National Armaments Materiel, said the contract would deliver continued improvements in A400M fleet availability, building on growth achieved over recent years. He said it gives the Armed Forces the capability they need while offering value for money to taxpayers.
Jobs at RAF Brize Norton and Across the Supply Chain
The government says the extension sustains more than 350 jobs. Of those, more than 240 are Airbus staff and 110 are primary subcontract staff. The Ministry of Defence did not break down the figures by location beyond naming the UK Support Centre at RAF Brize Norton as the base for the work.
Luke Pollard, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, called the extension a vote of confidence in British engineering and in the workforce at Brize Norton and Carterton who keep the fleet flying. He said that boosting availability strengthens the RAF's ability to conduct global operations and deliver on NATO commitments, while backing UK jobs and delivering value for money for taxpayers.
Kata Escott, Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space UK, said the company was proud to be a trusted partner to the Ministry of Defence. She described the A400M Atlas as the backbone of air mobility and said Airbus teams work alongside RAF personnel to keep the fleet mission ready.
The contract at a glance
- The value of the extension is £190 million.
- The Medium Term Contract is extended by 31 months, to April 2029.
- Support is delivered from the Airbus UK Support Centre at RAF Brize Norton.
- The target is 13 fully mission capable aircraft a day by the end of 2027, up from 10.
Where the £298 Billion Defence Investment Plan Comes In
The Ministry of Defence says the contract builds on the Defence Investment Plan, which it states commits £298 billion to UK defence over the next four years. The government says that plan will drive sustained investment across British industry and keep the defence sector a cornerstone of the country's economic renewal.
The announcement frames the extension as part of a wider commitment to strengthening the UK's defence industrial base and securing value for money in defence contracts. The government's own release, however, presents the £190 million as a standalone support contract. It does not say how much of the £298 billion is attributable to aircraft support, and it does not set out how the 2027 availability target will be measured or reported.
The release also says the deal will boost Britain's air defence, though it gives no detail on how a transport aircraft support contract translates into that claim. What it does spell out is the practical effect, more Atlas aircraft cleared to fly each day, and an Airbus workforce at Brize Norton guaranteed work until April 2029.
Key Takeaways
- A £190 million extension to the Medium Term Contract keeps Airbus maintaining the RAF's A400M Atlas fleet until April 2029.
- The government says the number of fully mission capable Atlas aircraft available each day will rise from 10 to 13 by the end of 2027, a 30% improvement.
- More than 350 UK jobs are sustained, including over 240 Airbus staff and 110 primary subcontract staff.
- The work is based at the Airbus UK Support Centre at RAF Brize Norton.
- The Ministry of Defence presents the deal as part of the Defence Investment Plan, which it says commits £298 billion to defence over four years.