At the unique occasion of having the five Airbus Military A400M flight test aircraft in Toulouse all at the same time, the Airbus Military Flight Test team put in place a formation flight including all five aircraft, after which each aircraft continued its specific flight test activity.

This unique formation flight provided some impressive visuals, of which the photo included above.

This technical flight of the five Grizzlies, MSN1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, was crewed with Airbus Flight Test teams and no particular maneuvers or tests were undertaken.

Following the formation exercise, the different aircraft continued on their daily activity: MSN1 continued with handling quality tests, MSN2 with air-to-air refueling wing pods hose stability tests, MSN3 with engine performance tests, MSN4 with pressurisation and oxygen tests and MSN6 with function and reliability tests.

The Airbus A400M is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in Seville, Spain.

The A400M, which is a collaborative venture involving the governments and industries of six European countries. The A400M is a larger, more modern, more flexible aircraft specifically designed to meet today’s requirements and indeed those of the future.

The A400M can travel further and faster than most current in-service airlifters and can carry larger payloads. It is a multi-role transport, economical to operate, and exploits the benefits of state-of-the-art technology.