• A trio of European aerospace companies, Airbus SE, Thales SA and Leonardo SpA, are moving ahead with plans to forge a space and satellite venture to compete with SpaceX.
• Talks between the companies are progressing on a three-way merger of their space divisions, with due diligence in process, stakeholders being notified and antitrust filings in the works.
• A successful European space alliance could be modeled on the MBDA missile venture, with the three parties discussing ownership of the new entity, and the creation of a European space champion has been discussed for years without coming to fruition.

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The creation of a European space champion has been discussed on-and-off for years without coming to fruition, leaving undersized space businesses that have struggled while SpaceX grows increasingly dominant. But with European countries preparing to unleash trillions of euros on defense and seeking to increase their independence, the partners now see a window to move forward.

Pressure has come from Russian President Vladimir Putin in the east, where the war in Ukraine has shown the importance of eyes from the sky, and from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly lambasted his European allies for skimping on security.

In June, NATO members agreed to increase defense spending toward a goal of 5% of gross domestic product in response to Trump’s demands.