The Spanish Air Force successfully embarks six helicopters on two A400M Atlas airplanes

The Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft represents a major leap forward in the capabilities of the Spanish Armed Forces.

This is how a Super Puma helicopter is loaded into a Spanish A400M Atlas transport plane
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The latest example of this progress has been published today by the Air Force, showing the operation to transfer the Patrulla Aspa helicopters to the Canary Islands, where the main events of Armed Forces Day will be held next weekend.

This operation was carried out at Zaragoza Air Base, home to the Spanish Air Force's 31st Wing, which operates the Spanish A400M Atlas. To load the helicopters onto these aircraft, it was necessary to remove the main rotor blades, as seen above.

The EC-120 Colibri used by the Patrulla Aspa, operated by the 781st Squadron of the 78th Wing, based in Armilla (Granada), is the smallest helicopter model in the Spanish Air Force. Its fuselage measures 11.5 meters long and 3.4 meters high, with an empty weight of 960 kg.

Loading a helicopter onto an aircraft is always an impressive operation (after all, it's one aircraft "swallowing" another). In this case, the Spanish Air Force has managed to fit six EC-120s onto two A400Ms, that is, three helicopters per aircraft.

Here we see the Patrulla Aspa personnel posing next to three of their helicopters already loaded onto an A400M. This is the first time such an operation has been carried out in Spain. The Air Force has stated that it is "a project that began more than three years ago, thanks to the efforts of pilots, mechanics, and engineers to make it possible." Here you can see the video published this afternoon by the Air Force showing this operation:

Here you can see some screenshots from this video about a transport operation that marks a new milestone for Spanish military aviation:

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Photos: Ejército del Aire.