Airbus also indicated that it wanted to renegotiate "certain technical characteristics" of the aircraft. Airbus has long maintained the first deliveries would begin three years after the A400M's first flight. The German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland has closely followed the A400M program and reported in January 2009 that the aircraft was overweight by 12 tons and may not be able to achieve a critical performance requirement, the ability to airlift 32 tons. Sources told FTD at the time that the aircraft could only lift 29 tons, which is insufficient to carry a modern armored infantry fighting vehicle such as the Puma.  

The FTD report prompted the chief of the German Air Force to say, "That is a disastrous development," and could delay deliveries to the Luftwaffe until 2014. The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Luftwaffe is delayed at least until 2017. This leads the political planning to potential alternatives in the shape of a higher integration of European airlift capabilities.  

The OCCAR reminded the participating countries that they can terminate the contract before March 31, 2009. On March 29, 2009, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders told Der Spiegel magazine that the program may need to be abandoned without changes. 

The shortage of military transports caused by the A400M delay forced the U.K. to lease, and subsequently purchase, six C-17s. France and Germany have also been considering other planes, as all three countries need to support their operations in Afghanistan.  

In June 2009, Lockheed Martin said that both United Kingdom and France had asked for technical details on the C-130J as an alternative to the A400M. On 12 June, The New York Times reported that Germany and France have delayed the decision whether or not to cancel their orders for another 6 months, while the UK still plans to decide at the end of June.