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🇪🇺 Airbus - Thales - Leonardo • Towards an "Airbus of satellites" to rival Starlink
Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo are about to take a historic step. By the end of the year, the three European aerospace giants could announce the merger of their satellite activities, a project that has been nicknamed the "Airbus of satellites" for 20 years ." The goal is to resist American domination embodied by SpaceX and its Starlink constellation. The agreement, codenamed "Bromo" since mid-2024, could be signed in 2025, according to the CEO of Airbus Defense and Space.
The merger would create a player with more than €6 billion in revenue, valued at €10 billion. Thales and Leonardo already collaborate through Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, but integration with Airbus would complete the consolidation of the sector. It would give Europe the critical mass to compete in a market disrupted by the arrival of low-orbit satellite constellations, mass-produced at low cost by SpaceX. This development has undermined traditional models centered on large geostationary satellites.
The European sector is indeed in crisis: the number of commercial geostationary satellites ordered each year has halved since 2020, falling from twenty to ten. Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, once fierce competitors, have accumulated losses and undergone restructuring. Airbus has set aside nearly €2 billion and plans to cut 363 jobs in France by 2026. Thales could reduce its workforce by 980 jobs. Pooling activities therefore appears to be an industrial and financial response as much as a strategic one.
But the operation remains fraught with obstacles. The distribution of capital is a sensitive issue: Airbus accounts for more than half of the future entity, compared with barely 20% for Leonardo. Financial compensation or asset disposals may be necessary. Governance is another sensitive issue, with national rivalries having already created tensions in the past. Finally, the European competition authority will have to rule on the matter, with the risk of demanding concessions to preserve a certain level of competition.
Despite these uncertainties, the argument of supporters is clear: only a united Europe can compete with the American and Chinese space giants. The IRIS² sovereign constellation project, supported by the European Union, gives further coherence to this desire for a European satellite champion. Le Monde
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