Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleLeonardo, Airbus, and Thales are assessing a space alliance's feasibility by July's end, aiming to compete with Starlink.
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)
The feasibility assessment aims to explore the potential for a space alliance among Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales by the end of July.
Project Bromo is an initiative named after an Indonesian volcano, focusing on creating a joint space company to help Europe compete with Elon Musk's Starlink.
The assessment will consider various aspects, including potential European antitrust hurdles and financial due diligence.
The structure of the alliance will be similar to that of MBDA, which is owned by Airbus, Leonardo, and BAE Systems, but with slight differences in governance.
Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso expressed hope that discussions for a potential Italian-French space alliance could also involve Germany.
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