Spanish Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas (T.23) - 31st Wing (Ala 31), Zaragoza - 50 Aniversario

Upon the arrival of TK.23-14 following its short domestic delivery flight from the Airbus facilities in Seville to the home of the 31st Air Wing at Zaragoza, this A400M was welcomed by high-ranking air force and Airbus officials with a special ceremony. It was not only the 14th A400M Atlas to enter service with Spain’s Ejército del Aire, but it arrived in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 31st Wing, having received a special tail design centered around the elephant used on the emblems of the unit’s two squadrons to commemorate the occasion. Created back in 1973 as the 301st Squadron, it started transport operations equipped with C-130 Hercules the same year. Five years later, the squadron was reformed as an Air Transport Wing, now consisting of two squadrons. Designated T.23, or TK.23 for the versions with (modular) provisions for in-flight refueling, in Spanish service, the A400M started replacing the C-130 Hercules in 2016. The new state-of-the-art transporter further supports the unit’s motto “Lo que sea, donde sea y cuando sea” – “Whatever, wherever and whenever”, being able to transport more cargo, at faster speeds and to longer distances.