EADS defends tanker award after Boeing appeals

PARIS (Reuters) - European aerospace group EADS defended a controversial contract to provide aerial refueling tankers to the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday after defeated rival Boeing announced an appeal.

"We have the feeling that the process was very transparent and fair and professional," Chief Executive Louis Gallois told a news conference.

"It is not by chance that we won, having won the last five (international) competitions for tankers; that is all I can say," Gallois said.

Boeing said late on Monday it would file a formal protest, asking the Government Accountability Office to review the February 29 decision by the U.S. Air Force to award a $35 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers to a team of Northrop Grumman Corp and Airbus parent EADS.

Gallois referred questions on the legal status of Boeing's challenge to its senior partner in the deal, Northrop Grumman.

He declined to say how revenues or profits would be shared between EADS and Northrop, a sensitive issue for opponents of the deal in Congress.

Asked whether EADS would make money on the deal, Gallois said, "We are not selling airplanes at a loss and we want to make money on every contract we have."

EADS Finance Director Hans Peter Ring said revenues would come in the next decade rather than in the immediate future.

Ring also said a contract known as FSTA to complete the financing of a sale of tankers to Britain under a private finance initiative would be completed within weeks.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Marcel Michelson; Editing by Quentin Bryar)