Airbus Defence & Space division: €11.7B FY2024 revenue (~17% of Airbus total €69B). A400M military airlifter, Eurofighter partner, A330 MRTT tanker, helicopters (H145M, NH90), satellites (Skynet, Pleiades), launchers. FCAS programme partner with Dassault + Indra.
Key Milestones
Heritage: Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH formed by UK, Germany, Italy, Spain to develop Eurofighter Typhoon — strategic European 4th-gen fighter program
Heritage: Eurocopter Group formed by Aerospatiale and DASA helicopter divisions — becomes Airbus Helicopters, world's largest civil/military helicopter manufacturer
Eurofighter Typhoon DA1 maiden flight at Manching Germany; multinational European 4.5-gen fighter — operational service begins 2003 with Luftwaffe, RAF, Italian AF, Spanish AF
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) formed via merger of Aerospatiale-Matra (France), DASA (Germany), CASA (Spain); €25B European national champion; renamed Airbus Group in 2014
A400M Atlas first delivery to French Air Force; €20B European tactical airlifter program — 175 aircraft order book across France, Germany, UK, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malaysia
Airbus Group rebrand: EADS becomes Airbus Group, Cassidian renamed Airbus Defence and Space; consolidates defence/space under Airbus brand
France-Germany announce FCAS (Future Combat Air System / SCAF) program; 6th-gen fighter cooperation; Spain joins 2019; Dassault prime for fighter, Airbus for remote carriers/MUM-T
Eurofighter Tranche 4 (Quadriga) contract for 38 aircraft to Luftwaffe worth €5.4B; replaces Tranche 1 Eurofighters reaching end of life
FCAS Phase 1B agreement reached after France-Germany dispute over workshare; €3.2B for next 3.5 years; Dassault retains fighter prime, Airbus DE+ES on remote carriers
A400M ramp: production stabilizing at ~8 aircraft/yr; Indonesian export agreement signed (2 aircraft); first non-launch nation A400M operator
Eurodrone (MALE RPAS) production contract signed Feb 2022 €7.1B for 60 systems; OCCAR program with France, Germany, Italy, Spain — European MQ-9 replacement
MRTT (A330 tanker) demand surge: NATO MMF, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia orders; backlog 80+ aircraft — KC-46 alternative for non-US customers
Eurofighter Tranche 5 commitments from Spain, Italy, Germany; ~120+ aircraft pipeline through 2030s — Typhoon production extended through ~2035 from earlier 2030 cliff
FCAS NGF demonstrator contract progress; flight testing target 2029; remote carrier ecosystem with MBDA — Phase 2 funding ~€8B reached