Franco-British defence co-operation will receive a significant boost today when the government confirms plans to buy Airbus A330 aircraft as refuelling tankers for the Royal Air Force.

The Ministry of Defence is expected to sign the contract this afternoon with the AirTanker consortium, which is led by EADS, the Franco-German aerospace and defence group. The signing will kick-start Britain's biggest private finance initiative, a deal worth £13bn over 27 years