It always seemed too good to be true. The victory in March by EADS and its US partner Northrop Grumman over Boeing in the fierce competition to supply inflight refuelling tanker aircraft to the US Air Force – an initial $35bn contract – was won against the odds.

EADS and its Airbus subsidiary may have won a string of other contests against Boeing to supply tanker aircraft to the UK, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, giving the company belief it had the superior product.