EADS consortium clinches 13 billion pound air tankers contract

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

LONDON (AFP) — European aerospace giant EADS and its partners on Thursday won a massive contract to replace Britian's ageing fleet of military inflight refueling tankers, just weeks after it scooped an even bigger US order.

The contract, worth 13 billion pounds (16.6 billion euros, 26 billion dollars), was handed to AirTanker Ltd, a consortium led by Franco-German group EADS which includes Cobham, Rolls-Royce and VT Group of Britain as well as Thales of France, the government said.

Hundreds of jobs would be created and thousands safeguarded thanks to the deal, it said in a statement.

Just last month, in a stunning upset, EADS and its US partner Northrop Grumman won a contract worth 35 billion dollars to build up to 179 air tankers for the US military....