Germany remains committed to acquiring military transport planes but also requires clarity on when it will receive deliveries of the Airbus A400M, which has been plagued by delays, a defence ministry spokesman says.

"We need such a plane," the spokesman told reporters when asked about a weekend report in Der Spiegel magazine that Germany could soon decide to abandon the A400M due to the delays.
 
Reuters reports he added Berlin needed "clarity and transparency" on when it would receive A400M planes it has ordered.
 
The comments come after weekend reports that Germany might soon decide to abandon the transporter because of delays.
 
Der Spiegel reported if Airbus does not soon explain whether and how it can solve the problems, German procurement officials would advise Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung to end the contract. The weekly quoted defence ministry sources.
 
Reuters added a spokesman for the defence ministry said there was a continual dialogue going on with the company on the issue. "But there are no contractual negotiations," he said.
 
Britain and Germany have expressed anger over delays, which include problems with its massive engines. In the last week, a British parliamentary panel urged Britain to consider abandoning the plane due to the delays.
 

With acknowledgements to Reuters and defenceWeb.