When the US Air Force earlier this year gave EADS, the European defence and aerospace company, a $35bn contract to supply it with refuelling tankers, the decision sent shockwaves across the Atlantic.

Washington had never chosen anyone other than Boeing to provide air-to-air refuelling and the contract had been regarded as a shoo-in for the Chicago-based company. On Wednesday, the natural order of things reasserted itself, at least in part.