Airbus is examining the potential sale of its American space operations while simultaneously advancing plans to establish a leading European satellite enterprise through a three-way merger. Sources indicate that the company has been evaluating expressions of interest from prospective buyers regarding its US space division.
The US space systems unit encompasses a manufacturing facility in Florida along with the Arrow series of small satellites, which are designed for high-volume production to serve commercial and government communications, Earth observation missions, and national security applications. In 2024, Airbus acquired the remaining 50% stake in the joint venture Airbus OneWeb Satellites, securing full ownership of the entity established in 2016 that has produced over 600 satellites for the first-generation OneWeb constellation, a low-orbit network delivering space-based internet services.
For some time, Airbus has been steadily relocating satellite production from the US back to Europe, including the manufacturing of 440 low-Earth-orbit satellites at its Toulouse facility—a move the company characterizes as "another step forward for European sovereignty." This order originates from France's Eutelsat, which acquired the bankrupt British OneWeb company in 2022.
While Airbus has not disclosed revenue figures for its US space operations, individuals familiar with the division estimate annual sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The business employs over 200 staff at its Merritt Island facility on Florida's Space Coast, situated adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center and in close proximity to Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket enterprise. By comparison, Airbus's global space division employs approximately 11,000 people.
The contemplated divestiture underscores Airbus's efforts to revitalize its struggling space operations worldwide, which recorded a €989 million impairment charge in 2024. In October of last year, Airbus entered into an agreement with Italy's Leonardo and France's Thales to consolidate satellite manufacturing, space systems, and related services to strengthen competitive positioning against Elon Musk's SpaceX. This three-way initiative, code-named "Bromo," is slated for submission to Brussels antitrust regulators later this year, with the target of launching the new entity in 2027.
Some sources suggest Airbus has long reviewed its space presence in the US, and this divestiture plan is unrelated to any remedial measures being negotiated with the European Commission concerning antitrust approval for the Bromo project. Although the proposed merger has drawn criticism from other European players such as Germany's OHB and Spain's Indra Espacio, the three participating companies are betting that Brussels will increasingly favor nurturing homegrown European champions.
The merger proposal arrives amid mounting pressure on Europe's space industry. The European Union is placing growing emphasis on space sovereignty, with member states seeking to reduce dependence on the US by developing reconnaissance, intelligence, and communications satellite constellations. European satellite manufacturers are struggling to adapt to shifting industry demands, exemplified by Ukraine's heavy reliance on SpaceX's Starlink system during its conflict with Russia. Airbus declined to comment on what it termed "market rumors and speculation."
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