Austria sues Airbus and consortium over Eurofighter order

Vienna — Austria filed a lawsuit against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium on Thursday, alleging wilful deception and fraud linked to a €2bn order for Eurofighter jets in 2003, its defence ministry said. Following an investigation the ministry said it believed Airbus and Eurofighter had misled Austria about the purchase price, deliverability and equipment of the jets. Damages could amount to €1.1bn, Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said in Vienna. The figure relates to extra costs paid for the Eurofighter compared with another bidder’s jet and higher operating expenses. Airbus said it was unable to comment as it had only just learnt about the action through the media. "We can, however, confirm that in recent years we have supported the activities by the legal authorities, for instance through [our] own investigations," a spokesman said.

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