2007

Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to formalise the commitment of allocating five per cent of the A350XWB airframe to the Chinese aviation industry.

EADS Secure Networks, an integrated line of business of EADS Defence & Security (DS) has been selected to deploy a digital TETRA radio communication system for Shenyang Metro Line 1.

As the system supplier, EADS Secure Networks will provide Shenyang Metro Co., Ltd. with an end-to-end solution that includes a DXTip switch, 23 base stations and five dispatcher stations. In addition, both vehicle and handportable TETRA radios will be delivered. EADS Secure Networks will install the entire TETRA system and provide training and related technical support services. At the same time, it will join forces with the system integrator, Shenyang Neusoft Co., Ltd., to develop applications based on the TETRA system with the DXTip switch at the core to meet the requirements of metro operation. The system will support train dispatching, operation and management, and ensure personnel safety for Shenyang Metro.

Airbus ended the 10th Dubai Airshow with major orders, re-enforcing customer confidence in its leading product range. During the show, Airbus received 163 firm orders valued at US over $28 billion at catalogue prices, from 10 customers. Airbus also won its largest ever order in terms of value for 70 A350 XWBs and 11 A380s from Emirates Airline. In addition, it received 132 commitments from three customers.

After an intensive evaluation process, Dubai based Emirates Airline has signed a firm contract for 81 Airbus wide-body aircraft (50 Airbus A350XWB 900 plus 20 -1000, and 11 additional A380s) in an agreement which could eventually rise to 131 aircraft. The order was signed at the 10th Dubai Airshow between Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Emirates Group and Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO.

The order includes the firming up of eight A380 aircraft announced at Le Bourget in June plus an additional three. This brings Emirates’ total incremental A380 orders in 2007 to 15 aircraft making Emirates the largest A380 customer with 58 firm orders. In addition the contract also includes the possibility for an additional 50 A350 XWBs. The firm orders have a list price value of US 20.2 billion dollars.

EADS (stock exchange symbol: EAD) displayed strong commercial and operational performance of its legacy programmes, but its EBIT* for the first nine months was burdened by charges for new programmes and restructuring. In particular financial consequences of the A400M programme status have led EADS to update its 2007 EBIT* guidance. For the full-year 2007 the Group expects EBIT* to be around break-even.

The Polish government has ordered today another two (2) EADS CASA C-295 military transport aircraft for the Polish Air Force. These two (2) units increase the number of eight (8) aircraft purchased in 2001 and two (2) additional ones in 2006 up to twelve (12). This contract with the Polish Air Force confirms again the suitability and efficacy of the C-295 and corroborates its leadership as a medium weight tactical military transport aircraft.

In an Extraordinary General Meeting EADS shareholders formalised the changes in the Group's management and leadership structure by adopting the proposed resolutions. EADS will be led by a single Chairman and a single Chief Executive Officer.

Airbus has officially handed over the first A380 to Singapore Airlines in a ceremony held at its Delivery Centre Toulouse, France in the presence of over 500 guests. The aircraft was officially handed over to Chew Choon Seng, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Singapore Airlines by Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders in presence of Chief Executive Officer Rolls-Royce Sir John Rose. Singapore Airlines will be the first to fly the A380 on regular scheduled service.

Vietnam Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 10 A350-900 XWBs, as well as for 20 additional A321s. With this further commitment for Airbus aircraft, Vietnam Airlines becomes a strategic customer for the A350 XWB programme. Furthermore, with this commitment for the A350 and for additional A321s, Vietnam Airlines will become one of the largest Airbus operators in Asia.

British Airways will buy 12 Airbus A380 aircraft as part of the airlines’ long term fleet modernisation. The announcement marks the first time British Airways has selected to introduce Airbus aircraft for the company’s long haul fleet. The decision vindicates Airbus’ product strategy. The A380 is a key part of the solution for sustainable growth and eco efficiency in air transportation.

The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines.

EADS Defence & Security inaugurates new Elancourt site, a Centre of Excellence for Defence & Security

EADS is set to commit to a long-term strategic arrangement with the British Government which acknowledges the company’s contributions at the heart of the UK’s advanced technology industrial base. The agreement will enhance and develop the relationship across all parties’ shared business interests.

Louis Gallois assumes the position of sole CEO of EADS. In this
role, he is responsible for leading the management team in the execution of the Group’s strategy and managing the company’s interaction with public shareholders.

EADS shareholders have decided – together with the EADS management team – to modify the company’s current management and leadership structure. Guiding principles of the modification are efficiency, cohesiveness and simplification of EADS management and leadership structure, towards governance best practices and in the respect of balance between the French and the German shareholders. The German Government has been consulted as well.

Under the simplified management structure, EADS will be led by a single Chairman and a single CEO.

Rüdiger Grube will assume the position of sole Chairman of the Board of Directors of EADS. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing the Group’s strategic development and dealings with its Shareholders. In particular, he will chair the newly created EADS strategic committee.

Louis Gallois will assume the position of sole CEO of EADS. In this
role, he will be responsible for leading the management team in the execution of the Group’s strategy and managing the company’s interaction with public shareholders.

Thomas Enders will assume the position of CEO of Airbus in the Toulouse headquarters of the company, reporting to the CEO of EADS. He will be supported by Fabrice Brégier as COO of Airbus.

The Shareholders have also concluded that it is in the best interest of the Group to recommend an increase in the number of independent members on the Board of Directors to appropriately reflect the global profile of EADS by conforming to international corporate governance best practices.

The last A300 to leave the Airbus Final Assembly Line, an A300 Freighter, was delivered to FedEx on 12th of July 2007. Over the life of the programme a total of 821 A300/A310 have been ordered and to date there are more than 630 A300s and A310s in service with about 80 operators. Airbus’ long-term fleet support programme will continue to enable their operation until the very last aircraft is retired from service, with half of the current fleet expected still to be in service beyond 2025.

With more than 120 A300s and A310s aircraft currently in service, FedEx is a long-standing operator and the largest customer for these aircraft types.

The Airbus A300, launched in May 1969 and entering service with Air France in May 1974, was the very first wide-body, twin-engine aircraft ever brought to the market. It set totally new standards in the industry. The innovative two-man glass cockpit was implemented on the A310, launched in July 1978 and entering service in April 1983 with Lufthansa and Swissair.

Leading Brazilian carrier TAM Linhas Aéreas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 22 A350 XWBs, as well as for four additional A330-200s. TAM was the launch customer for the A350 in Latin America uhen it signed a contract for ten aircraft in December 2005. Since then, and after a thorough evaluation of the new A350 XWB programme, TAM has more than doubled its requirement for the aircraft.

TAM currently operates a fleet of 86 Airbus aircraft, including 15 A319s, 61 A320s and ten A330-200s, and is Airbus’ largest customer in Latin America.

The joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin was signed today in Beijing between the Chinese Consortium and Airbus in the Great Hall of the People. Visiting German Minister of Economics and Technology Michael Glos and Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier attended the signature ceremony.

Upon the creation of the joint venture, Airbus will hold 51 per cent of the shares, while the Chinese Consortium will hold 49 per cent.

The Chinese Consortium comprises Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) holding a 60 per cent interest, China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) holding 20 per cent and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) holding 20 per cent of their 49 per cent.

Eurocopter logged record bookings for a total of 114 helicopters at this year’s Paris Air Show. The combined value of the contracts signed at the show amounts to over € 1.2 billion. The spectrum of customers placing new orders in Paris ranged from governments booking for military aircraft, to commercial operators in the oil and gas industry, in emergency medical services, training, VIP/corporate as well as utility and tourist missions, and covered almost the entire product line of Eurocopter. With the remarkable sales success achieved at the show, Eurocopter aims at achieving around 700 bookings by year-end.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, and François Auque, Chairman of Astrium, signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the production of 35 Ariane 5 launchers, in addition to the batch of 30 Ariane 5 launchers ordered in 2004. The signing ceremony was attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, along with Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency and Yannick d’Escatha, President of French CNES space agency.

Today, the defence ministries of France, Germany and Spain announced that they have decided to move ahead with the joint project planning and development of a future trinational modular system family of jet-powered high performance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A "Technical Arrangement", as the document has been designated, provides the basis for a subsequent study, the task of which is to consolidate the capability requirements of the armed forces of the partner nations in the area of unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance systems and propose appropriate technical solutions.

Airbus ends the 47th Paris Air Show with new momentum for its leading product range, the A380, the A350 XWB, the A330/A340 Family, as well as the A320 Family. During the Show the manufacturer received a total of 425 firm orders from 19 customers. In addition, Airbus received commitments for a total of 303 additional aircraft.

The Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble gave the official go-ahead today in Berlin for the construction of the digital radio network for German security authorities and organizations (BOS): The EADS reference platform requested by the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in December last year has been completed and was brought into service today. The reference platform consists of numerous linked sub-networks. This will serve as a test and validation platform and thus provide the necessary technical and practical basis for the entire network. Apart from conducting interoperability tests using different terminals from various manufacturers, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is also preparing tests on the secure end-to-end encryption concept. The reference platform will later become an integral component of the overall network.

Today, the first aircraft of the new generation A330 MRTT successfully performed its first flight at the conversion centre of EADS CASA in Getafe near Madrid.

The aircraft performed a 180 minutes flight going through a planned se-ries of tests. This new MRTT is now ready to fly to the Le Bourget Airshow in Paris where it will be presented for the first time to the public and the international press.

Astrium has unveiled a revolutionary new vehicle for space tourism at a special VIP event in Paris ahead of the Le Bourget Airshow. This business jet sized vehicle is designed to carry four passengers 100 km up into space giving more than three minutes of "zero G" or weightlessness. Guests at the Paris event were shown a full sized mock-up of the forward section of the revolutionary craft including its Marc Newson designed cabin.

EADS announced today that Jean-Paul Gut, Chief Operating Officer for Marketing, Strategy and Global Development, is to leave the company effective on 1 October 2007 at the end of a four-month notice period. He will remain a member of the EADS Board of Directors until this date. This follows a divergence in views over the organisation of the sales and marketing function within the Group.

Nonetheless, EADS and Mr. Gut had no disagreement over strategy. EADS is therefore keen to continue benefiting from his competence and expects to announce the shape of their continued cooperation in the near future. EADS would like to pay tribute to Mr. Gut’s remarkable qualities and to his major contribution, over 24 years, to the development of businesses successively within the Matra Group, Aérospatiale Matra and within EADS.

The conditions of Mr. Gut's departure are in strict accordance with the terms set forth in his employment contract. He will receive two years' salary as a severance payment without application of the non-competition clause of his employment contract.

In his position as a member of the EADS Executive Committee, Mr. Gut will be replaced by Marwan Lahoud, currently serving as CEO of MBDA.

Mr. Lahoud is appointed as EADS Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer with immediate effect. He will be replaced as CEO of MBDA by Antoine Bouvier, currently CEO of Astrium Satellites. Mr. Bouvier’s successor will be Evert Dudok, currently Head of EADS Astrium Space Transportation. Alain Charmeau will take over the full responsibility of the management of EADS Astrium Space Transportation.

EADS Socata announces today the delivery of the first Very Fast Turboprop TBM 850 to Bravo Capital, a South African company involved in property development and mining activities. Typically the TBM 850 will be used for corporate travels of 1,000 to 1,200 Nm between its Johannesburg headquarters and current property development projects in the Kruger National Park and Mozambique Islands, or for flights to neighbour African countries.

Today a best seller among the Eurocopter range, the EC135 has established itself as a leader on the light twin market, with operations spanning from emergency medical services to corporate transport , offshore, police missions and military operations. But let’s take a look back at the BO 108 and how this German predecessor became the EC135 as we know it today, with a little of the magic we like to call Franco-German cooperation.

AerCap has signed a firm contract with Airbus for the purchase of an additional ten A330-200 passenger aircraft, following their order for 20 A330-200s in December 2006. With its proven benefits in terms of economics and a wide customer base, the A330-200 will assist AerCap in the growth of their portfolio. Headquartered in The Netherlands, AerCap is an integrated global aviation company with a leading market position in aircraft and engine leasing, trading and parts sales.

The first Airbus A318 Elite, complete with VIP cabin, has been handed over to Zurich-based VVIP charter company Comlux, marking the start of a new era in the evolution of the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) Family.

Dubai based Emirates Airlines has reaffirmed its order for 43 Airbus A380 aircraft and additionally signed a contract for a further four. Emirates will begin receiving its first A380 aircraft in the third quarter of 2008.

Shanghai Public Security Bureau and Eurocopter signed a contract for three helicopters on April 28th in Shanghai in the presence of Mr. Wu Zhiming, Director of Shanghai Helicopter Procurement Project Committee, Director General of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Secretary of Shanghai Municipal Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs and Member of the Municipal Standing Committee.

On 24 April, DECLIC (Dispositif pour l’Etude de la Croissance et des Liquides Critiques*), the microgravity experimental instrument developed by Astrium for the French space agency CNES, successfully passed its flight readiness.

Euopean low-cost carrier easyJet took delivery of their 100th Airbus A319 aircraft on April 26th, 2007, following a handover ceremony in Hamburg between Andrew Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive and Louis Gallois, Airbus President and CEO.

United States based lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) has placed a firm order for 20 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. The order is for four A319s, 14 A320s and two A321s.

Socata’s TBM 850 demo aircraft is now back in Europe and on display at Aero Air Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, after a 20,000 Nm trip which started from its home airport of Tarbes on 26 February. The aircraft performed uneventfully for more than 100 hours and this includes numerous flights including the “TBM 850 Down Under Demo Tour” trip with stops in Key cities like Mt. Isa, Cloncurry, Cairns, Brisbane, Southport, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Albury, Avalon and Melbourne, with a week at the Australian International Airshow at the Avalon Airport.

China Eastern Airlines today took delivery of the first of its three Airbus A300-600Fs at EADS EFW´s facility in Dresden, Germany. The airframe bearing the MSN 521 was formerly operated by the Chinese airline itself as a passenger aircraft. The conversion into freighter configuration started in late December 2006. China Eastern Airlines´ second A300-600 aircraft bearing the MSN 532 is currently under conversion, the third airframe MSN 525 is scheduled to be converted as of September 2007.

Israel based carrier Israir Airlines signed a firm order for three Airbus A320 aircraft on 17th April, 2007, making the airline the first Airbus customer in the country. The deal marks Airbus’ breakthrough in the Israeli market.

Today marks another key milestone in the A400M military transport aircraft programme, with Airbus delivering the first pair of A400M wings from the UK to Seville, Spain, where aircraft final assembly is taking place.

The EADS Board of Directors appointed Rüdiger Grube (Member of the Management Board of DaimlerChrysler AG) to join Arnaud Lagardère as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Grube has been member of the EADS Board of Directors since 2004 and will succeed Manfred Bischoff with immediate effect. Bischoff resigned after having taken over new responsibility as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DaimlerChrysler AG.

The first high-cabin NH90 transport helicopter destined for the Swedish Defence Forces and assembled by Patria in Finland has flown successfully its first test flights. This helicopter is the third Swedish NH90 to take off after the two others have been test-flown and assembled by Eurocopter in Marignane, France. Of the 18 NH90 ordered by the government of Sweden, 14 are to be assembled in Finland.

EADS has contributed over $300,000 to fund advanced aerospace research, development and design activities at two U.S. universities, as well as the training of future aviation industry engineers. The new contributions were provided to professors and departments at Stanford University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, institutions recognized for their excellence in design, computer modeling and the application of new materials.

The first new Grob 120A training aircraft has arrived at the French Air Force Flight Training School on the Cognac Air Base. This event marks an important step in the EADS programme which aims at the modernisation of the ab initio pilot training for the French Air Force (FAF). Grob Aerospace, a supplier to EADS within this programme, will deliver a total of 18 Grob 120A by the end of this year. Among the numerous guests of a ceremony heralding the arrival of the first training aircraft were the French Air Force Chief of Staff, General Stéphane Abrial, and Johann Heitzmann, CEO of Military Air Systems at EADS Defence & Security (DS).

At Aerospace Testing Expo 2007 in Munich (27-29 March, 2007), EADS TEST & SERVICES is presenting for the first time a demonstrator of its new optical test system. The optical test system is for all types of on-board displays: In Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems, cockpit displays, Head-Up Displays (HUD), Helmet-Mounted Displays (HMD), ...To date, it is the only generic, optical test system for displays available in the world aerospace test market. Aimed at both production and maintenance testing, it has been pre-demonstrated to some system and equipment manufacturers who have shown great interest in this new tool.

ATR and Canary Islands-based Islas Airways announced today the signature of a contract for 6 new ATR 72-500s for a total value of around US $ 110 million. For the first time the airline is adding new “–500 series” ATR aircraft to its fleet, currently composed of 1 ATR 42-300 and 4 ATR 72-200s. The deal has been inked in the Canary Islands by Filippo Bagnato, ATR CEO, and Miguel Concepción Cáceres, Islas Airways CEO.  

LAN Airlines (LAN) has signed a firm contract with Airbus for the acquisition of 15 additional A320 Family aircraft. This is a confirmation of the options that were announced in October 2005.

EADS Defence & Security (DS) announced today that it has been selected by the French armaments directorate (DGA) to carry out preparatory work for the development of an operational system consisting of army networks for latest-generation telecommunications, entitled SOCRATE NG (Système Opérationnel Composé des Réseaux des Armées pour les TElécommunications Nouvelle Génération).

Forty years ago - on 7 April 1967, to be precise - the first Gazelle prototype manufactured by Sud Aviation took off from Marignane. This new, five-seat, light helicopter was designed to take over from the Alouette 2 and had a very sleek profile and ultra-modern lines. However, the tail rotor - directly taken from the Alouette 2 - was based on more conventional tail rotor designs. It was not until the second prototype that the first Fenestron - a groundbreaking innovation from the chief engineer, René Mouille – took to the skies.

Astrium has succeeded in the first step of a triple challenge with the first Ariane 5 mission of 2007, on 11 March, which has successfully launched the British military communications satellite Skynet 5A, together with the Indian INSAT-4B telecommunications satellite.

EADS Socata introduces its Very Fast Turboprop to the Australian business aviation market

After having sold 615 new helicopters in 2006, 50% more aircrafts than in 2005, Eurocopter registered record orders of 112 units, among them 88 firm and 24 options, at Heli-Expo 2007, an exhibition dedicated to the helicopter and which took place in Orlando from 1. – 3. March 2007. This outstanding result confirms the dynamism of the helicopter market as well as the infatuation of operators for Eurocopter helicopters. The majority of the new orders came from North-American clients. To date, the US market displays the fastest growth.

To complement its successful range of light twin-engined helicopters, Eurocopter has upgraded the twin-engined AS355 N Ecureuil/TwinStar. Taking advantage of the experience accumulated on this product, the new variant, designated AS355 NP, is designed as a cost-effective entry product in the twin market. EASA certification was granted on February 15, 2007 and “Transport Canada” and Russian certifications are expected this year. First deliveries will take place in May and June 2007. The AS355 NP is a high performance multi-mission aircraft based on the proven technologies of the successful AS350 Ecureuil/AStar series.

Astrium is set to build the Mercury probe BepiColombo on behalf of the European Space Agency, ESA. ESA’s scientific programme decision-making body, the “Science Programme Committee” (SPC) agreed to award this order to Astrium, Europe’s largest space company, following the decision of ESA’s Industrial Policy Committee in January this year. The industrial contract is worth approximately 330 million euros. BepiColombo is scheduled to begin its journey to Mercury in 2013.

EADS is assisting the German Armed Forces in its deployment of German soldiers abroad by providing protected containers for medical treatment. As the company announced on Friday, EADS Defence Electronics had been given an order for the delivery of 30 protected rescue stations by the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement BWB. The rescue stations are housed in standardised 20-foot containers and ensure initial medical treatment and emergency care of the highest medical and hygienic level.

EADS Defence & Security Systems today announced that it has purchased a minority stake in the Erudine IT software company. The deal gives EADS, global leader in space and defence services, exclusive use of the Erudine Behaviour Engine software across the aerospace, global defence, and global security sectors.

The Federal Office for Information Management and Information Technology of the German Armed Forces (IT-AmtBw) has placed an order with EADS for the delivery of the system software for the German Army's C3I system (FüInfoSys H). EADS is thus supplying the Bundeswehr with the core of this advanced digital command and control information system.

The first Royal Australian Air Force’s A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport has been put back on wheels. This is a significant milestone for the A330 MRTT programme, which represents the finalisation of the major structural modification in the A330 platform. The conversion into multi role tanker transport of these aircraft is being carried out by EADS CASA at its facilities in Getafe, Madrid.

EADS sold its 2.12 percent stake in Embraer. Before taxes and bank fees EADS generated a total proceed of € 124 million. Following changes in the shareholder structure of Embraer the participation had become a pure financial investment and was earmarked for sale as EADS is now focussing its attention on core matters and projects that will provide future growth opportunities.

Petters Group Worldwide (PGW) has signed a contract for an Airbus A318 Elite, becoming the first US customer for the type. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PGW plans to use its A318 Elite for flights to Asia and Europe - as well as within the USA.

After the flights of a few small and extremely light working models, the development of lowweight internal combustion engines with enough power paved the way in the early 20th century for the first flight of a piloted helicopter. History has retained one date, 1907, and a few names, to mention but Bréguet-Richet, Cornu, Pescara, and Oehmichen.

EADS Defence & Security Systems has handed over the first Digital Map Generator System (DMGS) for the A400M military transport aircraft to Airbus. This consignment was the first step in the delivery of a total of 192 systems. A further twelve Digital Map Generator Systems are planned for the transport aircraft ordered by South Africa.

EADS and Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd. have officially signed the contract on Phase-3 project of Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network. Bai Xin, Deputy Director of the Beijing Information Office, Guo Hao, Vice President of China Satcom and other leaders were present at the signing ceremony.

The German Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a €430 million contract to EuroHawk GmbH, a joint venture company formed by EADS and Northrop Grumman Corporation, for the development, test and support of the Euro Hawk® unmanned signals intelligence (SIGINT) surveillance and reconnaissance system.

ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato announced a turnover of US $ 700 million in 2006, a growth of about 30% compared to the previous year (US $ 542 million revenues in 2005, based on IAS standard). 2006 has confirmed the strong recovery of the turboprop market already experienced in 2005.

With the 5,000th order for A320 Family aircraft, Airbus has reached a significant landmark, highlighting the Family’s position as the benchmark for single-aisle airlineps. In the last two years alone, the A320 Family has received orders for around 1,600 aircraft, making it not only the best-selling but also the fastest-selling jet airliner of all time. The 5,000th order was reached with the sale of 30 A319 aircraft to U.S.–based customer Spirit Airlines. This new order confirms the A320 Family aircraft as the undoubted reference for the low-cost carrier market.

In 2006, Eurocopter successfully secured its position as the world's No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a total of 381 new helicopter deliveries for new military and civil helicopters and strengthened its position as a major branded business division within EADS, counting for a consolidated turnover of 3.8 billion Euros. Compared to 2005, Eurocopter turnover increase amounts to 18 percent.

Order bookings, showing a high demand for new helicopter models, counted up to 615 new aircraft equalling 4.89 billion Euros (rising from 3.52 billion euros in 2005). The company’s order backlog by the end of December 2006 was on a historical high, reaching 11 billion Euros.

Airbus was given the go-ahead from the Board of Directors of its parent company EADS for the industrial launch of its wide-body A330-200 Freighter aircraft, for which it has already received 26 commitments from two customers.

Following its commercial launch last summer, the decision for the industrial launch of the A330-200F is based on a strong market demand for over 400 freighters in the 60 plus tonne category over the next 20 years. The A330-200 freighter is the only mid-size, long-haul all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 64 tonnes over 4,000nm / 7,400 km, or 69 tonnes up to 3,200nm / 5,930 km in payload mode configuration. Entry into service of the first A330 freighter is planned for the second half of 2009.

Airbus has expanded the scope of its Environmental Report published every two years, to include social and economic issues for the first time. The first Airbus Environment, Social and Economic Report, published in December 2006, is available on-line at www.airbus.com.

Following the authorization given by the Spanish Council of Ministers on the 22nd December, the Spanish government officially signed the contract for 45 NH90 in their tactical transport version (TTH) to equip its Armed Forces. The NH90 are part of the renovation and modernisation program of the medium helicopter transport fleet of the Ministry of Defence.

The first deliveries will take place in 2010. The new plant of Eurocopter in Spain, located in Albacete, will assume the assembly of the NH90 helicopters as well as the manufacturing of the front fuselage, for which Eurocopter in Albacete will be the sole supplier.

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V.
Mendelweg 30 · 2333 CS Leiden · The Netherlands

EADS Deutschland GmbH · 81663 Munich · Germany
EADS France S.A.S. · 37, boulevard de Montmorency · 75781 Paris Cedex 16 · France
EADS CASA · Ava. de Aragón, 404, 28022 Madrid · Spain