Getting your money back
I'm not a lawyer, but mightn't it depend on who the contract signatory is on the supplier side.
Was it "Airbus Military"? Isn't that a separate legal entity to Airbus or EADS?
If yes & yes, what would be the consequences of Airbus Military just declaring bankruptcy?
Apart from no money back for UK MoD, I mean.
Admittedly, it's the "nuke option", but I'll bet all the senior management would walk away and somehow find themselves still living the lifestyle to which they've been allowed to become accustomed, and the shareholders (EADS, CASA & ...) would just have to write off their shareholding values, which would be a minuscule amount compared to paying back all the money.