Paris – Airbus leaders say they make good progress to transform the company’s space commercial unit even if they plan to combine it with those of other European companies.
In the briefs at the Paris Air Show, as well as during a separate event of “business update” which was held in Paris on June 18, the leaders declared that they saw signs of improvement in its space activity After taking 1.3 billion euros ($ 1.5 billion) in 2024 And 600 million euros in 2023.
“In a word, we stabilize,” said Alain Fauré, head of space systems at Airbus Defense and Space, during a press conference during the air program on June 16. “Now we’re back on the right track.”
Airbus problems came from poor costs and performance planning performance by satellite programs, which said business leaders last year was linked not to correctly assess technological risks on these programs And do not be sufficiently selective when making “BID / NO-BUD” decisions.
This included work on ONESAT, a range of Geo Communications-Communications Software-Indconfigurable Satellites. “It was very difficult in terms of development,” said Fauré. “The team really overturned things.” He added that he was convinced that Iirbus would deliver the first satellite in 2026.
The efforts on onos are part of the broader recovery plan which, according to him, focuses on competitiveness, efficiency and profitability. “It really changes the way we approach the business to be more effective,” he said.
Mike Schoellhorn, managing director of Airbus Defense and Space, offered a similar assessment during the business update event. “The team is doing an excellent job with a new leadership to transform the ship and make it a profitable and growing business,” he said.
This reversal includes the elimination of more than 2,000 jobs in the defense and the space of Airbus. “We are well progressing on this subject. We are ahead of the curve,” he said. These jobs, said the leaders later, did not imply engineers but rather largely back office positions.
This recovery effort arises as IIRBUS continues negotiations with Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space on a potential combination of their space business. During a separate event at Paris Air Show on June 17, Roberto Cingolani, Managing Director of Leonardo, said He expected the companies to make a “Go / No-Go” decision to proceed to the merger by July.
“We are currently in the due diligence phase,” said Schoellhorn. “It will have to lead to a decision in the second half, yes or no.”
Even if the companies decided to carry out a combination, the antitrust exams could take about two years, according to Cingolani and Fauré. Schoellhorn said it was optimistic that the European Union approved an agreement, citing the comments of Andrius Kubilius, the EU defense and space commissioner, in a June 17 speech which approved consolidation in the context of broader efforts to improve the military preparation of Europe.
“We participate in a global competition and if Europe wants to be competing worldwide, we have to do something,” he said. “I think we have the right condition for success, but we have no guarantee.”
He also offered two years to conclude any agreement, a time period which, according to him, was only a “guess”, drawn by regulatory examinations and the complexity of the combination of space operations in the three companies. “It could also go faster, but maybe I will stay on the conservative side.”
Fauré pleaded for the importance of consolidating space in Europe. “In Europe, if we take a step back, there is a lot of fragmentation in terms of projects, fragmentation in terms of players,” he said. A combination would provide a “critical mass” in terms of scale and volume, he said, creating a “European champion” in space. “We can have the forces of the three companies.”
The combination “would be a gamechanger in terms of scale,” said Schoellhorn. “Not only have the technology that we all have today which is tied with the United States, but also to create a scale which is then essentially at the same level as the great American players.”
This consolidation, he said later, is still necessary even if the concerns concerning Elon Musk having an excessive influence on the current administration have decreased.
“I always think that consolidation in Europe has a lot of meaning and is always necessary because we are fighting on the global market against very large players, not just SpaceX. If you look at the military market, you have Lockheed Martin, you have Northrop Grumman, you have Boeing. They are all much larger than any European company,” he said.