EADS Lands $35bn US Defense Deal
EADS, the European defense company, scored a stunning victory in its campaign to penetrate the US defense market on Friday by winning a $35bn (£17.6bn) contract to supply the US air force with refuelling tankers.
EADS and Northrop Grumman, its US partner, beat Boeing in a competition that could ultimately be worth more than $100bn.
The winning team will initially supply 179 air-to-air refuelling tankers using a modified version of the Airbus A330 passenger jet.
But the air force may select the same aircraft to replace its entire fleet of about 600 tankers over the coming decades.
Louis Gallois, EADS chief executive, told the Financial Times that it was “just great” to beat Boeing, saying: “I think it is the best contract I have won in my life.” Ronald Sugar, Northrop’s chief executive, said he was “delighted”.