Europe is considering whether to extend the life of its Antonov An-124-100 heavy transports or develop a new European aircraft to cover the role long filled by the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, after an EU-backed study narrowed the options to two strategic airlift paths. The findings, tied to the European System for Outsized Cargo Airlift programme, were presented to the European Defence Agency in Brussels on 8 September and are due to be discussed by member states at Strategic Transport Days on 21-22 October.
The study centres on the projected shortfall in 100-ton-class strategic airlift in the 2030s, as the chartered An-124s age and no direct replacement is available. Europe’s current C-17 fleet is expected to remain in service into the 2040s, but Boeing ended production of the type in 2015, limiting options for expansion. The Airbus Defence and Space-led consortium examined a deep modernisation of the An-124-100 fleet and the alternative of a new European design, rather than incremental expansion of the A400M.
Access to the An-124 comes through NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution pool, which provides up to five leased An-124-100s for nine partner states. The A400M cannot fully cover the heaviest cargo missions, leaving Brussels to balance continued reliance on outsourced outsized lift against the cost and industrial effort of a new long-term capability.