PARIS (Reuters) – Paris is about to leave the Franco-German Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) defence procurement programme, online newspaper La Tribune reported on Wednesday, following Germany’s decision to buy maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing.
Germany’s defence ministry said at the end of June that it would buy five Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.30 billion).
The decision has upset France, La Tribune reported. Paris will soon end its participation in the Maritime Airborne Warfare System program, or MAWS, it reported, without specifying a date.
France is a major participant in the European project Airbus, which in June reached a truce with rival Boeing after a long battle over aircraft subsidies.
A spokesperson for France’s defence ministry declined to comment.
($1 = 0.8460 euros)
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Barbara Lewis)
