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Only one of Germany's eight Airbus A400M military transport planes is currently ready for use, the German air force said on Thursday, days after one of the aircraft broke down during the German defense minister's visit to Lithuania.
A spokesman for the Luftwaffe said three aircraft, including the one stranded in Lithuania, were out for unscheduled repairs, with two more in planned inspections and one receiving scheduled retrofits. The seventh aircraft was still going through the acceptance process after arriving on Jan. 31, he said.
"Of course, we'd like to have more of the aircraft ready for use, but it's also normal that aircraft need to be inspected and maintained," the spokesman said.
German officials said on Thursday they were still investigating what caused an oil leak in one of the four engines on the aircraft that carried Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to Lithuania, and whether it marked a new technical problem for Europe's largest defense project.