The South African (SA) ministry of defence has decided to terminate a contract with Airbus for A400 strategic airlift aircraft.

In 2005, South Africa signed a contract with Airbus to acquire eight A400s and South Africa also became a partner in the A400 programme.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Go deeper with GlobalData

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The decision to cancel is a result of the extensive increase in cost of the programme and Airbus’s failure to deliver the aircraft on schedule, according to a South African Government statement.

Armscor, which is responsible for the acquisition, maintenance and disposal needs of SA Defence will be asked by the defence ministry to terminate the programme.

Also, $379m (R2.9bn) will be refunded to the country’s national treasury as per the contract provisions.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Airforce Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Airforce Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.


Excellence in Action
Discover how Virtualitics is transforming mission readiness with explainable AI, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision intelligence across the U.S. Department of Defense through its AI-powered Integrated Readiness Optimization suite, for which it has won the Innovation and Business Expansion awards.

Discover the Impact