EADS suspends A400M production - Les Echos

PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA) has decided to suspend production of the A400M military transporter to avoid having a build-up of assembled aircraft before test flights have even begun, Les Echos reported on Tuesday.

"If the rate isn't slowed down, the problem is one will end up with lots of aircraft parked up that risk having to be taken back afterwards," the French newspaper quoted a source close to the programme as saying.

A spokesman for EADS had no immediate comment.

Two of the airlifters have so far been assembled, a third is largely complete and the sections of the next two have mostly been built, the paper said. Parts of the structure of the sixth are being put together.

The first flight of the A400M meanwhile has been suspended.

The aircraft, which is being built for seven NATO countries, has already led to 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in provisions for EADS a year ago, when it said the programme was running six to 12 months late.

The paper added that a new planning schedule for the project was not expected before the start of December at the earliest. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by David Holmes)