Earlier this week, a French Air Force C-160 Transall visited LMML for a night stop. It departed yesterday morning back to LFMP (Perpignan). The C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced through a joint venture between France and Germany. “Transall” is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and VFW-Fokker. It was initially developed to meet the requirements for a modern transport aircraft for the French and German Air Forces. export sales were also made to South Africa and to Turkey, as well as a small number to civilian operators.
The C-160 remains in service more than 50 years after the type’s first flight in 1963. It has provided logistical support to overseas operations and has served in specialist roles such as an aerial refuelling tanker, electronic intelligence gathering, and as a communications platform.
The C-160 is expected to be phased out in the near future as France takes deliveries of the more modern and capable Airbus A400M Atlas.
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