The European space giant that Airbus, Thales and Leonardo will create will have a subsidiary in Spain

Spain will host one of the five subsidiaries of the European space giant that Airbus, Thales and Leonardo are going to create. The announcement was made this Wednesday by Leonardo’s CEO, Roberto Cingolani, during the presentation of his company’s results until September. The other subsidiaries will be located in Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. A geographical choice for the ‘joint venture’ that also responds to national interests of sovereignty in terms of security.

As explained by the Italian manager, each subsidiary will be specialized in one of the six areas on which the new company will focus, which include Earth observation and satellite communications. The giant, which will have a workforce of around 25,000 people and an annual turnover of 6.5 billion euros, intends to compete in this area with other colossi such as Elon Musk’s Space X.

The merger, which is subject to the usual conditions in this type of operation, including the approval of the competition authorities, should allow the new company to come into operation in 2027, according to the three companies recently stated. For now, the goal is to create and develop a complete portfolio of complementary technologies and comprehensive solutions ranging from space infrastructure to servicesexcluding space launchers.

The manager has also stressed that they want Europe to compete with the United States, China, India and other emerging countries, reports Europa Press. Cingolani also recalled that Airbus will own 35% of the new company, while the other 65% will be divided equally between Thales and Leonardo, as specified in the memorandum they signed.

The three firms are confident that the combination of the space businesses of the three companies will generate annual synergies of several hundred million euros in operating income once five years have passed since the closing of the operation. Specifically, Airbus will contribute its businesses to the new company Space Systems and Space Digitalcoming from its Airbus Defense and Space division, while Leonardo will contribute its space division, including its stakes in Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space. For its part, Thales will mainly contribute its interests in Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and Thales SESO.

The parties consider that this partnership represents “an important milestone” in strengthening the European space ecosystem, which supports greater capacity for innovation, strategic autonomy and competitivenessand whose objective should be “to ensure that Europe strengthens its role as a key player in the global space market.” Furthermore, they trust that the project will generate important synergies, encourage innovation and provide added value to clients, shareholders and employees. At the moment, Airbus employs more than 14,000 experts in the eight centers it has in Spain and which are distributed between Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. The Getafe center, Airbus’ third largest, houses the national headquarters and the Futura Campus.