Mexican Air Force looks at new airlift aircraft during Feria Aeroespacial México 2025 (FAMEX 2025)
April 30, 2025
Mexico conducted an initial evaluation of a company-owned Airbus Defence & Space A400M from 15 May 2014, when the FAM operated five Lockheed Martin C-130E/K Hercules and one civilian-standard L-100. There were reports that the FAM had shown interest in the possibility of acquiring a pair of new C-130Js, but more reliable sources suggested that Mexico favoured the A400M.
For the FAMEX 17 exhibition a Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire or EdA) Airbus A400M deployed to Santa Lucía Air Base in México from its home base in Zaragoza, Spain.
By 2023, the FAM Hercules fleet had dwindled to a pair of ex-RAF C-130K-30s (3616 and 3617) and one L-100-30 (3611), all operated by Escuadrón Aéreo 302 at BAM Santa Lucia. It was reported then that the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana had issued a Request For Quotation (RFQ) for two A400M aircraft with Airbus.
For FAMEX 2025, the renamed Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (Spanish Air and Space Force) again deployed an A400M to Military Air Base No. 1 at Santa Lucía. There were reports that a planned FAM evaluation of the A400M had to be cancelled as a result of a technical failure. It is not known whether the evaluation was rescheduled.
The A400M is not the only option for the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana, and it is perhaps no coincidence that other potential candidates were present at FAMEX 2025. Several USAF C-130Js were present, along with a Brazilian Air Force C-390, which supported the A-29 Super Tucanos of the Esquadrilha da Fumaça (Smoke Squadron) aerobatic team. The Fuerza Aérea Mexicana’s Airbus C295 was also present at the show. Though not a direct competitor to larger and more tactically focused airlifters, the C295 offers a range of extremely cost-effective operational capabilities.
