WASHINGTON — Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space will build a replacement military communications satellite for Spain as those two companies, along with Leonardo, continue efforts on a space joint venture.

Airbus announced July 31 that it was selected by Spanish company Hisdesat to be the prime contractor for SpainSat NG 3, a geostationary orbit satellite that will provide communications services for the Spanish military and allies.

Under the contract, Airbus will build the satellite and provide its X-band communications payload. Thales Alenia Space will build the UHF and military Ka-band payloads for the spacecraft.

The satellite, scheduled to be ready for launch in the third quarter of 2030 and enter service in early 2031, will provide services over the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It will operate in conjunction with the existing SpainSat NG 1 spacecraft, which provides services as far east as Singapore.

Neither company mentioned that SpainSat NG 3 is a replacement for SpainSat NG 2. That spacecraft was launched in October 2025 but malfunctioned in January after suffering what Hisdesat said was a “space particle” strike while in its supersynchronous transfer orbit. The particle hit what the operator called a “vital area of the satellite,” and the damage prevented the spacecraft from carrying out its mission.

Hisdesat’s majority owner, Indra Group, said in January it would procure a replacement satellite and expected the costs to be covered by insurance.

Airbus said that SpainSat NG 3 will include “technological enhancements” over its predecessors, which would provide it with “greater operational agility, expanded bandwidth, and superior protection against jamming and electronic threats.” The company did not say if there would be any design changes in response to the loss of SpainSat NG 2.

Bromo update

Airbus and Thales, along with Leonardo, announced in October 2025 their intent to combine their space businesses into a joint venture, code-named Project Bromo. That process is ongoing and, in recent earnings calls by the three companies, only Leonardo provided any updates on that effort.

In a July 31 earnings call, Lorenzo Mariani, who took over as chief executive of Leonardo in May, said the three companies were working on “our filing to antitrust” with European Union officials, part of the process to secure approvals for the deal that are expected to continue into 2027.

“We are working already as a team, ready to build a space domain giant, employing 20,000 and more people, and really being a real actor in this developing scenario,” he said.

He downplayed any concerns about securing those approvals for the joint venture. “It’s always a complex process, especially when the business is a complex one like it is for space,” he said, adding that all three companies “are contributing in good faith to this.”

Project Bromo has detractors in Europe, including some companies that see it as potentially reducing competition. Some have questioned whether Bromo, pitched as a way to shore up Europe’s space industry, is needed given the surge in European government spending on space, particularly for defense programs.

“Of course, there are other actors, other companies who do not see an opportunity in Bromo, although I see in Bromo an opportunity for the whole European supply chain very clearly,” Mariani said.

Airbus and Thales, by contrast, said little about Bromo. Patrice Caine, chairman and CEO of Thales Group, mentioned increased spending by the European Space Agency as well as projected growth in EU space spending in the next multiyear funding package. “This favorable space environment is also very promising for Project Bromo, as well as for future growth opportunities,” he said in a July 23 call.

He instead focused on improved performance by Thales Alenia Space, buoyed by increased government spending. “Institutional markets, for me, it’s a kind of a no-brainer, a very strong momentum,” he said.

That includes the European Commission-led IRIS² secure broadband constellation. That system “is a huge opportunity for us,” he said. “If it materializes, and I’m optimistic on this point, it will represent a very significant chunk of business for us for the years ahead.”

That contrasted with commercial business, with Thales reporting a reduction of 153 million euros ($176 million) in sales in the first half of the year after the cancellation of two GEO communications satellite orders. Demand for such satellites, Caine said, had “clearly” been affected by the rise of broadband constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink. “This market is what it is now,” he said.

Airbus did not mention Project Bromo in its July 29 earnings call, instead emphasizing improved performance in its space business. “We’re very pleased with the, I would say, turnaround that we’re doing in space, and that is materializing,” said Thomas Toepfer, chief financial officer of Airbus Group. “What we’re doing in space is better than what we probably or slightly better than what we had in our internal plans.”