Leonardo, Airbus, Thales to assess feasibility of space alliance by end-July

By Giulia Segreti

PARIS (Reuters) -European aerospace companies Leonardo Thales and Airbus will assess the feasibility of a space alliance by the end of July, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said on Tuesday at the Paris Airshow.

Under so-called "Project Bromo", named after an Indonesian volcano, the three groups have been exploring plans to set up a new joint space company as Europe looks to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink.

Cingolani said that by the end of next month the three groups would have assessed several aspects of a potential partnership, including possible European antitrust hurdles, financial due diligence, and "the value creation" of the venture.

"The business model will take more time, however," the CEO added, speaking to reporters,

He confirmed that the structure of the alliance would be similar to that of Europe's top missile maker MBDA, owned by Airbus, Leonardo and BAE Systems, although "slightly different in governance".

Cingolani also said that Leonardo and Thales - which already have two joint ventures in the space sector, namely Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio - were considering merging these into the new entity.

"It's a moment when we are discussing all scenarios," he said.

Separately, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters that he hoped talks over a potential Italian-French space alliance could include Germany too.

"We are in tune with Germany and the new German government on many industrial dossiers," Urso said.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti. Editing by Mark Potter)