The first four units would have been converted from passenger versions at
EADS EFW in
Dresden, Germany. Airbus planned to assemble the aircraft in
Mobile, Alabama, after which they would have been modified by Northrop Grumman. EADS had also announced plans to shift A330 commercial freighter assembly to Alabama.
[14] As the winner of the Air Force contract, Northrop Grumman and EADS (the airframe subcontractor) were expected to invest approximately US$600 million in new assembly plants in the United States adjacent to one another in the
Brookley Complex in Mobile.
EADS's failure to win the contract meant that the Alabama production line was never set up.
