Countries that banded together to challenge Boeing in the air try to do the same to AWS, Microsoft, and Google on the ground

Feature More than half a century ago, a consortium of European aerospace businesses from the UK, France, Germany and Spain joined forces to take on America's Boeing. Fast forward to the 21st century and the countries are applying the same model needs to the world of cloud computing, giving the continent a fighting chance to reduce the digital domination of Big Tech.

It took Airbus decades to compete with rivals on a global stage, achieving an operating profit only at the end of 1990. Due to the success of the A320, it reported an overall net profit five years later. Long-term thinking, as is more typical in China, is how Catherine Jestin, executive vice president of digital at Airbus, views what's needed now.

There are some big players in Europe, albeit not in the same ballpark as AWS, Microsoft, or Google. "If we are able to build on ...