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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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US, Euro Alliance Landed Air Force Deal for Airbus

$40B contact took years of careful planning

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(Newser) – Years of careful strategy and an alliance between executives was the key to Airbus nailing a $40 billion deal to build Air Force planes, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon’s decision last week is “a transformational shift in the way weapons systems are acquired. It’s an acknowledgment that globalization is real," said Ralph Crosby Jr., the top US executive for Airbus parent EADS.

The determined working relationship between Crosby, a French-speaking West Point grad, and former Northrup Grumman aircraft systems chief Scott Seymour is largely credited with landing the deal. Boeing was favored to win the contract, but Pentagon officials liked the versatility of Airbus’ refueling tanker, which can carry 7,000 more gallons of fuel and 30 more people than the Boeing aircraft. The deal could open the path to a fortune in other contracts for the companies from the international defense community.

In this photo released by the US Department of Defense a B-2 Spirit multi-role bomber conducts air refueling operations with a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Pacific on April 4, 2005. The Air Force on Friday Feb. 29, 2008 awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the...
In this photo released by the US Department of Defense a B-2 Spirit multi-role bomber conducts air refueling operations with a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Pacific on April 4, 2005. The Air Force on Friday...   (Associated Press)
This image provided by Northrop Grumman shows the first KC-45A aerial refueling tanker taking off on its maiden flight on Sept. 25, 2007. The Air Force on Friday Feb. 29, 2008 awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. and their European partner, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the maker of Airbus planes,...
This image provided by Northrop Grumman shows the first KC-45A aerial refueling tanker taking off on its maiden flight on Sept. 25, 2007. The Air Force on Friday Feb. 29, 2008 awarded Northrop Grumman...   (Associated Press)
Boeing union workers Sandy Hastings, left, of Everett, Wash., and David Henry of Puyallup, Wash., protest the U.S. Air Force's decision to award a fuel tanker contract to Airbus-Northrop Grumman at the Aerospace Machinists Union in Everett, Wash., Friday Feb. 29, 2008. Members of Congress from Washington state said...
Boeing union workers Sandy Hastings, left, of Everett, Wash., and David Henry of Puyallup, Wash., protest the U.S. Air Force's decision to award a fuel tanker contract to Airbus-Northrop Grumman at the...   (Associated Press)
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