Project Bromo concerns a selective industrial perimeter, not a full merger of Airbus, Leonardo and Thales. The transaction announced on 23 October 2025 includes the Space Systems and Space Digital activities of Airbus Defence and Space; Leonardo’s Space Division, including its stakes in Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio; and principally Thales’s holdings in the same joint ventures, together with Thales SESO. Launchers remain outside the perimeter. This distinction matters because it defines both the potential synergies and the areas in which the parent groups would continue to compete. [R01]
The future company would span a broad section of the value chain: satellites and payloads, orbital infrastructure, Earth observation, telecommunications and navigation, ground systems, operations and digital services. The proposed ownership split—35% Airbus, 32.5% Leonardo and 32.5% Thales—implies joint control, but the elements that convert ownership into industrial authority lie in operating governance: headquarters, committees, delegations, product lines, budgets, appointments and workshare rules.
The sponsors have indicated a scale of around 25,000 employees, €6.5 billion of 2024 pro-forma revenue and a backlog exceeding three years of sales. The target is for the entity to become operational in 2027, subject to binding agreements, regulatory clearances and social processes. Until closing, the companies remain competitors. The pre-closing phase is therefore not integration itself, but the period in which choices are designed that may become difficult to reverse afterwards. [R01–R03]
The corporate perimeter is broadly understood; the central question is how it will be translated into authority, products, sites and workshare.
