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7 nations discuss future of delayed military plane
Representatives from each country's government have come together "to find a common position" on the project, a spokesman for the German defense ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy. He said the members of the meeting "agreed to maintain silence about the content of the talks."
The launch of the A400M is one of Europe's most ambitious joint military-industrial undertakings, and has suffered several costly hangups.
On Tuesday, German news magazine Focus Online quoted an evaluation by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as saying the original costs of 20 billion euros ($30 billion) for the A400M could rise by as much as 5.3 billion euros.
The A400M program is being developed by Airbus and parent company EADS and was launched in 2003 with an order for 180 planes from seven governments -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.
The hulking, gray aircraft with a black nose and four black propellers with curved blades is designed to replace Lockheed Martin Corp.'s aging C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft used by the US Air Force as well as the retired C-160 Transall transport aircraft developed by a French and German consortium.
It should almost double its predecessors' cargo capacity and have a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers).
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