[4] VEB was not the first effort to establish new aeronautical facilities in East Germany; however, following a popular uprising during 1953, officials chose to publicly renounce military aviation ambitions in favor of civil aircraft.

The company had intended to develop the 152 as a commercial endeavor; an assembly line capable of producing up to 18 aircraft per year was to be established in Dresden to manufacture the type.

As envisioned, the 152 would have been developed initially as a 57-seater airliner, plans were made to accommodate alternative seating layouts, such as a high-capacity 72-passenger configuration or a more spacious 42-passenger arrangement.

[5] At one point, up to 8,000 personnel were employed on this program, along with an additional 25,000 jobs across numerous other companies involved in the supply chain; these were bundled in a combined Volkseigener Betrieb during 1958.

[8] On 28 February 1961, the East German government issued an order for the dissolution of its national aeronautical industry; this decision was reportedly heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, which was then promoting its own similar-sized airliner, the Tupolev Tu-124; despite earlier promises, it no longer wanted to purchase any Baade 152s or provide further support towards its development.

Following the delivery of East German airline Interflug's Airbus A310 jetliners in 1989, VEB undertook servicing and overhaul work for the fleet.

Ownership was divided between Airbus, the Russian government-owned United Aircraft Corporation and Irkut; it was established in 2007 with the aim of creating a second production line for converting freighters, to be based in Lukhovitsy, Russia.

[citation needed] In the 2010s, EFW's management decided that a greater proportion of the company's revenue ought to be derived from MRO activity.

[18] During 2015, EFW was approved as a full maintenance provider for the Airbus A380, thus becoming one of the only companies able to offer overhaul, servicing, and structural improvement packages to airlines; customers have included Lufthansa and Emirates.