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Europe's major aerospace and satellite companies are unifying in an effort to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, its Starlink, and Chinese satellites.
In the joint venture, Thales, Airbus, and Leonardo have put aside their long-standing hostilities and come to a deal called “Project FOMO” worth $7 billion .
According to Caleb Henry, research director at advisory firm Quilty Space, “This kind of merger of the three biggest European space companies would have been unthinkable 10 years ago, but competition between Airbus and Thales is much less significant than competition between Europe, U.S. and China.”
The recent merger under the Project FOMO unites two joint ventures between Leonardo and Thales with Airbus’ satellite business.
Previously, collaboration between Thales and Airbus received red signal from the European Commission as industrial and political demand for the deal was less pressing.
Europe’s traditional market for geostationary satellites has been reduced due to the influx of cheaper satellites in low Earth Orbit (LEO). Moreover, geopolitical drivers such as the Russian-Ukraine war and security issues with the US have prompted Europe to push for cutting-edge space programs.
But, Airbus’ financial crisis proved to be a heavy blow to the Airbus OneSat programme, calling it unacceptable for the sector.
