Airbus is still waiting for Spain to give the green light to resume test flights of the A400M military plane, the company said Friday, after they were suspended in May following a fatal crash.

The Spanish defence ministry had on Thursday announced that some restrictions would be lifted on three of the giant transport planes as Airbus continues working on the model.

But an Airbus spokesman said planes that have recently rolled off the assembly line in the southern Spanish city of Seville would remain grounded and will not undergo the test flights, explaining that the misunderstanding arose from a misinterpretation of the ministry statement.

"The next stage is to be able to restart flights by the assembled planes," the spokesman said. "We understand that is set to happen in the coming days."

The European aircraft maker said Tuesday it hoped to deliver 13 of 17 A400Ms this year if it obtained the green light to resume the test flights.

An A400M crashed during a test flight on May 9 near Seville, killing four of the six people on board and seriously injuring the two others.

The huge propeller-driven transport aircraft was launched in 2003 to respond to the needs of seven NATO members -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey -- with Malaysia joining in 2005.

Britain, Germany, Turkey and Malaysia joined Spain in grounding their A400M planes after last month's crash.

An initial analysis of the black boxes revealed that three of the aircraft's four engines failed, Airbus has said.

The crash is only the latest trial for the troubled A400M programme, which was plagued by development setbacks that led to years of delays and costly overruns.

The first aircraft was delivered in 2013, and a total of 174 have been ordered. The aircraft programme has now cost 28 billion euros ($31.6 billion) compared to 20 billion euros ($22.5 billion) originally.

Air Force taps National Aerospace Solutions for running facility
Reston, Va. (UPI) Jun 12, 2015 - Key test operations and sustainment at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex are to be run by Bechtel-led National Aerospace Solutions.

The contract period is for one base year of performance with seven one-year options. Its maximum value is as much as $1.5 billion.

"The Air Force is working hard to ensure the long-term viability of the complex, while maintaining reliable and cost-effective mission success," said Craig Albert, president of Bechtel's Nuclear, Security & Environmental global business unit. "AEDC is a national asset for both the government and commercial sectors, and its potential to meet the needs of future ground test programs is even greater.

"We're ready to partner with the Air Force and the team at AEDC to help realize that potential."

"Bechtel is eager to work with our teammates, the talented complex workforce, and the community to support the mission of AEDC to become the 'tester of choice,'" said Brian Sheridan, chair of the NAS Board of Managers. "Our goal is to build on their experience and dedication to take the complex to the next level of performance."

The Arnold Engineering Development Complex is located at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee. It features 43 wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, ballistic ranges, space chambers, and other specialized testing units and has played a role in testing nearly all of the United States' top priority aerospace programs.

The Air Force announced in 2013 that it intended to issue as many as six contracts for the missions at AEDC. Test operations and support is one of them.

The National Aerospace Solutions is composed of Bechtel National, Inc., Sierra Lobo Inc., and GP Strategies Corporation. They will test operations and sustainment duties at Arnold and other Air Force facilities in Maryland and California. Chugach Federal Solutions Inc. and nLogic Inc. are teaming sub-contractors.