Airbus Military green lights A400M industrial production

The nose section of an Airbus Military A400M transport is unloaded from an Airbus A300-600 ST 'Beluga' in Dresden, Germany on Jan. 5, 2010. (NORBERT MILLAUER/AFP/Getty Images)

March 9, 2011by Aubrey CohenSEATTLE PI

Airbus Military has approved the start of industrial production of its A400M airlifter, the company announced Wednesday. It plans to assemble the first four production A400Ms in 2012 and then ramp up to 2.5 per month by the end of 2015.The company also announced that Cédric Gautier, currently president and chief executive of EADS Sogerma, will take over the A400M program on April 1 from Rafael Tentor.