Airbus Tests New Outsized Cargo Loading System
and Jig; German Verification Imminent
(22/09/22)
Airbus Defence and Space has developed and
tested a loading system to lift outsized military cargo into the
Airbus Beluga A300-600ST aircraft.
The capability was successfully tested during a
verification exercise with the German armed forces, the system’s
first customer, by loading a CH53 military medium-lift helicopter
into the Beluga.
“The demand for outsized air cargo capability is
on the rise. Capacity is scarce and, in light of current
geopolitical developments, many customers are looking for new,
fast and efficient solutions. This is exactly what we offer with
our BelugaST fleet,” said Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus
Defence and Space. “Our teams have been working on a remarkable
solution to facilitate a speedy, efficient and autonomous handling
to load heavy military cargo onto the aircraft. Speed, agility and
autonomy are crucial elements for our customers when it comes to
such operations.”
The new self-funded cargo loading system and jig,
developed by engineers at Airbus Defence and Space, have now been
unveiled to customer representatives from international armed
forces following the verification event in Manching, north of
Munich.
The system was developed and manufactured from scratch in
1.5 years – from the initial exchange of ideas with the German
customer to its verification, which is still subject to final
confirmation by the Bundeswehr in the coming weeks.
The system
enables arrangements for the loading of a CH53 in a reduced state
of dismantling to be completed within less than 1.5 hours while
the actual loading process into the Beluga aircraft can be
accomplished in about an hour.
The total lifting capacity of the
system, which requires no crane for its use, reaches 35 tonnes and
can be relocated to the aircraft’s destination.
Prior to announcing plans to offer the services of
its existing BelugaST fleet earlier this year, the fleet of five
aircraft was solely used for the transport of large aircraft
sections between various Airbus sites as part of the company’s
production system.
With the advent of the new BelugaXL, based on
the larger A330-200 platform, the existing BelugaST fleet has been made
ready for customer transport services worldwide.
Subscribe to our
Travel Industry News RSS
Feed . To do
that in Outlook, right-click the RSS Feeds
folder, select Add a New RSS Feed, enter the URL of our
RSS Feed which is: https://www.travelnewsasia.com/travelnews.xml
and click Add. The feed can also be used to add the headlines to your
website or channel via a
customisable applet. Have questions? Please read our
Travel News
FAQ. Thank you.