European Sovereignty Monitor

Defence and space

Airbus, Leonardo and Thales sign MOU for European space joint venture

Airbus, Leonardo and Thales signed an MOU to merge their satellite and space-systems units into one company, owned 35%/32.5%/32.5%, aiming to rival SpaceX. Combined 2024 turnover was about EUR 6.5 billion, pending regulatory clearance.

Verified Editor-read Airbus press release, 23 October 2025

What it does not test. Does not establish that regulatory clearance has been granted or that the joint venture has started operating; launchers are excluded from the deal.

How this item counts. This item is dated before the index starts on 1 January 2026, so it does not count in the European Sovereignty Index.

How this item was made. Drafted by an AI system (Claude (Anthropic)) from the source cited above; read and approved by the editor on 2026-10-13. How the record is made

What the tags mean: VerifiedReportedAI-draftedAI-drafted, editor-readHuman-writtenWhat the tags mean

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