EADS North America???

I suppose if I owned an aerospace firm and wanted to land a huge DOD contract, I would establish a plant in the U.S., author a press release that speaks of things such as "corporate citizenship"and "interoperability among nations" and do the other things that other D-contractors are known for. Moreover, were I a DOD contracting / procurement officer, these would be the things I would look for in a contract partner. But this isn't any firm, this is EADS, which is the parent company of Aerobus. That's right, Aerobus -- the fwench (excuse me multi-national) airframe manufacturer. Here is the press release regarding EADS' recent selection of Mobile, Alabama as their potential KC-330 Advanced Tanker production facility.

Mobile Alabama’s Brookley Industrial Complex has been selected by EADS North America as the site for the EADS KC-330 advanced tanker U.S.. production facility, providing a strategically-located complex on the Gulf of Mexico with existing runways, a deepwaterr port and a skilled aerospace workforce. An Airbus Engineering Center will be co-located with the future production facility and is scheduled to begin operations in 2006.

The decision was announced today by EADS North America, completing a five-month nationwide search for the location that will become the center of activity for the KC-330 – which is being offered to recapitalize the U.S. Air Force's aerial refueling fleet. More than 70 sites from 32 states originally responded to EADS North America’s Request for Information (RFI). The list of locations under consideration subsequently was narrowed to four candidate sites in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina. The KC-330 industrial site selection process was managed for EADS North America by The Staubach Company, an international real estate and management firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

So, what's the big deal you might ask? THEY'RE FRENCH!!! The same fwenchies that decided that the operations in Iraq were criminal. The same fwenchies that sided with Russia in propping up the Iraqi economy. The same fewnchies that would likely cease production of a very important cog in the Air Force wheel were it to be ordered in large quantities and used in a manner that they did not like.

By the way, what the hell is Roger Staubach doing finding homes for wayward fwenchies?