EADS underscores commitment to U.S. production

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

COLUMBUS, Mississippi (Reuters) - Europe's EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Friday its on-time and on-cost deliveries of light utility helicopters to the U.S. Army underscored the company's long-term commitment to producing aircraft in the United States, despite concerns raised by some U.S. lawmakers.

EADS had already delivered 26 of the helicopters to the Army, all on time or ahead of schedule, and was steadily transferring production work from Germany to the United States, said Ralph Crosby, chief executive of EADS North America, during a tour of the Mississippi helicopter plant.

"The point is we've never made a commitment that we haven't kept," Crosby told reporters.

Some U.S. lawmakers have supported Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in its protest of a $35 billion Air Force aerial tanker program won by EADS and prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). These critics have said they fear EADS could renege on its pledge to produce those aircraft in the United States now that its team has won the competition.

"There's absolutely no truth" to such statements, Crosby said, noting that EADS had already spent $500 million to build an engineering center in Alabama and it planned to meet its commitments on tanker production.

Crosby said EADS had pledged to build not only the A330 aircraft for the refueling tankers at a new plant in Mobile, Alabama, but also a new freighter version of the airplane.

That would create the third large aircraft manufacturing facility in the world in addition to an Airbus plant in Toulouse, France and the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington, he said.

MORE U.S. JOBS