Airbus Calls on Rheinmetall for Simulators

Rheinmetall will continue to support the German Air Force for training its A400M military transport aircraft personnel with two additional simulators. In January 2021 the A400M’s maker, Airbus, contracted Rheinmetall Electronics to supply two training simulators for the European A400M. Earmarked for German air bases in Wunstorf and Altenstadt, the simulators will be delivered and ready to operate at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023.

In Wunstorf, Air Transport Squadron 62 will receive an A400M Cargo Hold Part Task Trainer (CPTT). This will augment the A400M training centre’s existing suite of simulation and training systems, which includes the advanced Cargo Hold Trainer Enhanced (CHT-E), used for training cargo hold crews, especially loadmasters and ground personnel.

Specially configured for the mission, a second CPTT will be installed at the Airmobile and Air Transport School in Altenstadt, where it will be used for training airfreight handling personnel and paratroopers. The CPTT will be the base’s first A400M simulator.

The A400M CPTT is an full-scale replica of the A400M cargo hold, including the operator interfaces. It permits realistic training of cargo hold crews and ground personnel. Highly versatile, the CPTT enables mission-specific configuration of the cargo hold. Trainees can practise the preparation of cargo, loading and unloading, in-flight and ground procedures. The crew also learns to operate as a team. The system lends itself to initial and advanced training as well as refresher courses and mission preparation. In addition to training operations, the CPTT lets users evaluate, test and qualify procedures and configurations for new types of loads. The CPTT also enables the complete spectrum of cargo training assets to be adapted for other platforms.

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Besides the CPTT, Rheinmetall has supplied various A400M user nations with other types of cargo training equipment, including the Loadmaster Workstation Trainer (LMWST) and the CHT-E. The latest order brings the total number of Rheinmetall A400M cargo training systems to 10.

Rheinmetall supplied the first A400M CPTT to the Royal Malaysian Air Force in 2019. CHT-E simulators are now in service at the Airbus International Training Centre (ITC) in Seville; with the Royal Air Force in Brize Norton in the UK, the German Air Force in Wunstorf; and with a French Army airborne brigade near Toulouse. The LMWST is on hand at the Airbus ITC in Seville; France’s national A400M training centre in Orléans; and at the Royal Air Force National Training Centre in Brize Norton.