The order came from Europe’s organisation for the management of cooperative armament programmes (OCCAR) and finalises a move first announced on June 29 by NATO about the two countries joining the Netherlands and Luxembourg in operating the fleet.

The contract signed Monday includes options for four more aircraft, which would enable other countries to join the group, as well as two years of initial support, Airbus said.

Airbus gave no financial details, but the German parliament in June passed a budget that said Germany would contribute 1.4 billion euros (1.23 billion pounds) to the programme.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Madeline Chambers)