Europe plans satellite powerhouse to rival Musk’s Starlink

Three large European aerospace groups announced Thursday a plan to merge their satellite activities to create a power plant capable of competing in particular with Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet system.

The merger, financial details of which were not disclosed, comes as Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper work to deploy satellite networks to bring high-speed Internet access to large areas of the world lacking reliable connectivity.

Airbus, Thales and Italy’s Leonardo said they aimed “to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in space, a major sector that underpins critical infrastructure and services linked to telecommunications, global navigation, Earth observation, science, exploration and national security”.

This would not include space launch vehicles such as Airbus’ Ariane rockets, which, unlike Musk’s SpaceX Falcon launchers, are not reusable.

Numerous Falcon flights have carried more than 8,000 satellites that currently make up Starlink.

In response, the European Union plans to create its own Internet satellite constellation called IRIS2, which is expected to become operational in 2030.

Although it would have only 300 satellites, IRIS2 would focus more on “secure communications”, European Space Agency director Josef Aschbacher told AFP in an interview this month.

“Europe needs this urgently,” he said.

Thales said separately on Thursday that an initial 100 million euro ($116 million) engineering contract with satellite operators for IRIS2 would allow it to halt planned job cuts in its space operations.

“Excellent news”

The new European satellite group’s annual revenue was estimated at €6.5 billion based on current operations, and its order book would represent more than three years of projected sales.

Its headquarters will be located in Toulouse, in the south of France, where each company already has significant production and R&D facilities.

If approved by regulators, the new project, called Bromo, would be operational in 2027, with Airbus holding a 35% stake while Thales and Leonardo would hold 32.5% each.

The companies build, deploy and maintain a range of communications and navigation satellites that will support the deployment of high-speed networks around the world.

“This partnership aligns with the ambitions of European governments to strengthen their industrial and technological assets, guaranteeing Europe’s autonomy in the strategic space domain and its many applications,” said the CEOs of each company in a joint statement.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, who along with Germany and Spain holds minority stakes in Airbus, called the deal “excellent news.”

“The creation of a European satellite champion will increase investment in research and innovation in a strategic industry and strengthen our European sovereignty in an area of ​​intense global competition,” he said in a statement.

© 2025 AFP