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EADS welcomes Spain in the Tiger programme

Amsterdam, 05 September 2003

* Major Spanish industrial participation in Tiger programme
* Eurocopter to create a helicopter industry in Spains
* 24 Tiger helicopters

EADS welcomes the decision of the Spanish government to join the Tiger programme and to order 24 Tiger combat helicopters. The Spanish Council of Ministers has announced on Friday that it has given authorization for the Spanish Defence Ministry to finalize the agreement.

Commenting on the news, the EADS CEOs Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich, said "We are pleased by the Spanish government's decision and regard this as further proof of the trust of the Spanish authorities in EADS as the core partner to develop its aerospace and defence industry."

"The involvement in the Tiger programme will strengthen Spain's position in European defence integration, not only politically but also industrially", Camus and Hertrich pointed out.

"This is a great day for the Spanish aerospace industry. The Tiger is the best attack helicopter for the Spanish army and means good business for Spain," said Francisco Fernandez-Sainz, Chairman of EADS Casa and Head of the Military Transport Aircraft Division. With Eurocopter Espana and its new facilities for design, production and final helicopter assembly in Spain, our industry and our workforce will be part of the market success of the worldwide number one helicopter producer. This will lead to new jobs and new competences for Spanish industry," the Spanish Member of the EADS Executive Committee said.

The programme negotiations have been successfully conducted under the leadership of Eurocopter, a 100 percent subsidiary of EADS, with the full support of EADS International and EADS Casa. Jean-Paul Gut, Head of EADS International, said: "We are committed to strengthening the defence industrial cooperation with Spain and establishing a Spanish helicopter industry. This new Spanish business will be a European center of competence and will play an important role in the development of export markets."

The Tiger's success is a further important step for EADS to reach its strategic target of increasing the share of defence revenues from 20 to 30 percent of its total revenues.

The Spanish government's announcement is the most recent continuation of the EADS success story in the international defence business. Only on Monday, EADS announced the signature of the NH 90 contract with Greece. EADS had registered the largest order in its history, worth EUR 20 billion, for the A400M military transport aircraft in May 2003. In August 2003, EADS welcomed Austria as the fifth customer of the Eurofighter combat aircraft.

EADS is the second largest aerospace and defence company in the world with revenues of EUR 29.9 billion in the year 2002 and a workforce of more than 100,000. It is a systems integrator and as such EADS is one of the few companies worldwide capable of combining various products and technologies to form complete systems and offering the associated services. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo. EADS has more than 70 sites in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and is active in many regions worldwide, amongst them America, Russia and Asia.

Contact for Communications:

EADS:
Rainer Ohler
Tel. +49 89 607 34 235
Miguel Sanchez
Tel. +34 91 585 77 89
Roland Sanguinetti
Tel. +33 1 42 24 24 26

Eurocopter:
Jean-Louis Espes
Tel. +33 442 85 95 55