Euroflag was a collaboration of European aerospace companies formed for the development of the Future Large Aircraft project which was eventually to result in the Airbus A400M Atlas. Development eventually moved under the stewardship of Airbus Defence and Space.
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | FIMA |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Defunct | January 1999 (1999-01)[citation needed] |
| Successor |
|
| Headquarters | Rome , Italy |
| Products | Future Large Aircraft |
The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was set up on December 16, 1982 by Aérospatiale, British Aerospace, Lockheed and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm to develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and C-160 Transall. Varying requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow progress. In 1987, Aeritalia (predecessor of Alenia Aeronautica) and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) joined the FIMA group. By May 1989, Lockheed was deep into the planning of a second-generation C-130 (eventually unveiled as the C-130J Super Hercules) that would become a competitor to a FIMA aircraft, so FIMA was disbanded.[1]
In July 1991 with the addition of Alenia Aeronautica, CASA, OGMA, and TAI of Turkey the Future International Military Airlifter group became Euroflag, European future large aircraft group.[2][3] a joint-venture company based in Rome.[4]
1995 saw the FLA military transport project in charge of requirement-definition and selection processes with Airbus Military eventually taking over the project.[5]