A 'skunk works' operation was once a secret research lab for developing planes to defeat the Nazis and the Communists.
This included everything from J-10 fighters, a newly developed plane boosted as a serious competitor to America's F-16, and missiles, including the nuclear DF-31 intercontinental ballistic one capable of hitting anywhere in America.
The primary objectives were to build missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads to targets in the Soviet Union and to develop planes and satellites to survey and photograph Soviet airfields and missile bases first from high altitude and later from space.
EADS executives, however, have dismissed such concerns, saying that the subsidies cited by the trade panel — mainly low-interest loans to help Airbus develop planes — were irrelevant to the tanker contest.
The A220 is only the beginning of what promises to be an exciting chapter in the ongoing Airbus-Boeing rivalry, punctuated by a big order today from JetBlue for the Bombardier developed planes.
Both the US and UK militaries have since developed planes capable of flying on their own, which some say is a short step away from weaponized autonomous aircraft.
The eight allies have invested a total of $4 billion in developing the plane and could buy hundreds of the planes through specific orders, most of which remain to be negotiated.
