Airbus Defence and Space

Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus D&S), headquartered in Toulouse, France with major sites in Munich, Stevenage UK, and Madrid, is the space and defense division of Airbus SE — Europe's largest aerospace company — and one of the three dominant global satellite prime contractors alongside Boeing Satellite Systems and Thales Alenia Space, generating revenues exceeding €11 billion annually across satellites, space exploration, defense systems, and military aircraft.

In commercial satellite manufacturing, Airbus D&S produces the Eurostar GEO telecommunications satellite platform and the flexible Eurostar-1000 through Eurostar-3000 variants serving Intelsat, SES, Inmarsat, and national operators. The company won major high-throughput satellite contracts including OneWeb's 648-satellite LEO constellation (partially manufactured at a joint facility with OneWeb in Florida before OneWeb bankruptcy and Eutelsat acquisition). The Pleiades NEO and Pleiades 1 high-resolution optical Earth observation satellites are operated by Airbus Intelligence, providing 30 cm sub-meter commercial imagery.

In space exploration, Airbus D&S built the European Service Module (ESM) for NASA's Orion spacecraft — the propulsion and power module supporting NASA's Artemis crewed lunar program. Multiple ESMs have been delivered under ESA contract for Artemis I (launched 2022) through Artemis V. For Mars exploration, Airbus supplied the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter structure and is developing the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover cruise stage.

ArianeGroup, co-owned 50/50 by Airbus and Safran, manufactures the Ariane 6 launch vehicle and operates the Guiana Space Centre. This ownership gives Airbus D&S structural alignment with European launcher sovereignty — ensuring launch access for European institutional and commercial satellites and preventing over-dependence on SpaceX.

Defense products include the MUSIS/CSO reconnaissance satellite constellation for the French military, military communication satellites (SATCOM), missile defense systems, radar systems, and cyber security services for NATO member governments.