Europe’s Three Major Aerospace Giants to Integrate Satellite and Space Businesses

　　Europe’s three major aerospace giants—France’s Airbus, Thales, and Italy’s Leonardo—signed a memorandum of understanding on the 23rd, planning to establish a new company that will merge their respective satellite and space businesses to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in the space sector.

　　In a joint statement released that day, the three parties stated that, pending regulatory approval, the new company is expected to officially commence operations in 2027, employing approximately 25,000 people across Europe, with an annual turnover projected to reach €6.5 billion.

　　The statement noted that the new company aims to integrate the satellite and space system manufacturing and space service businesses of Europe’s three major aerospace companies, creating a unified, comprehensive, and resilient European aerospace enterprise with the critical scale to compete in the global market and expand exports. The new company will also serve as a partner for European national sovereign space projects, responsible for their development and implementation.

　　The statement emphasized that the establishment of the new company “is a significant milestone in strengthening Europe’s space ecosystem and will enhance Europe’s position in innovation, strategic autonomy, and global competitiveness.”

　　France’s Le Monde reported that this plan aims to counter the dominance of U.S. company SpaceX’s “Starlink” satellite network service.

　　It is reported that the new company’s headquarters will be located in Toulouse, a city in southwestern France, where Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo all have production and R&D centers. Airbus stated that through resource integration and technology sharing, it expects to save “hundreds of millions of euros” in costs annually.