French & Russian EADS ownership seen as problem for US national security

The large ownership stakes of the French and Russian governments in EADS are becoming more and more of a problem on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon.
The British defense company BAE, which is co-building the stealthy F-35 joint strike fighter, has had problems getting some of the super-sensitive US technology it needs to be part of the American-led project.

But the Guardian reports, "EADS faces even stiffer hurdles: its main owners are German and French, with the French state's 15% holding unpalatable to US political leaders."

And EADS is fighting to grab a big part of the Pentagon budget.

What's worse is that the Kremlin has quietly bought up another 5 percent of EADS through a state-owned bank, and it may seek to buy more. That troubles more and more people in Washington as they learn about it.