A landscape of major opportunities and challenges
In recent years, the European space sector has entered a turning point. In addition to its traditional civil dimension, its strategic and defence aspect is gaining increasing prominence in a geopolitical context that is ever more demanding.
The European and Spanish space landscape faces a crossroads of major opportunities and challenges arising from tensions linked to the new global space race, its increasingly strategic and defence-driven nature, and the major investments being announced.
Industrial movements are also shaping a new cycle for the space sector, both for the continent and for Spain.
Europe faces a critical risk of dependency and marginalisation in strategic space technologies, which requires an unprecedented increase in public and private investment"
Space has always been recognised as a highly strategic sector, with strong cross-cutting relevance across other economic activities and an ever-growing presence in our welfare and security.
Communications, Earth observation and positioning, navigation and timing systems depend critically on space infrastructure.
More recently, space has become a strategic domain not only in the civil sphere but also in defence. Powers such as the United States and China have been investing for years in dual-use space capabilities, both civil and military.
In Europe, total investment in space is almost an order of magnitude lower than in the U.S., and the share allocated to military space is significantly lower.
In addition, in recent years unprecedented technological advances and achievements have materialised, driven by major private investments that accompany public spending.
This places Europe at a serious risk of marginalisation and dependency in critical technologies such as secure satellite communications, space surveillance or quantum-encrypted communications. As a consequence, Europe is rethinking its space strategy.
In particular, the European Commission has launched the IRIS² secure communications programme and, in its upcoming financial perspectives, plans to triple the budget of its space programme and invest heavily in defence, security and space.
Although space investment in Europe has been growing in recent years, the gap between Europe and other space powers continues to widen. Europe must reaffirm its ambition for sovereignty and autonomy in space through an unprecedented increase in both public and private investment. To do so, it must deploy all instruments at its disposal—within national programmes, within the European Union, and within ESA, which has just held its CM25 Ministerial Council.
It is crucial that CM25 be a success and that Member States, particularly Spain, substantially increase their contributions to build a budget commensurate with the challenges facing the sector.
From an industrial perspective, we are witnessing industrial consolidation processes unprecedented in both the European and national context.
From an industrial perspective, we are witnessing industrial consolidation processes unprecedented in both the European and national context. Particularly noteworthy is Project Bromo, which could lead to the merger of all space activities of Airbus, Leonardo and Thales. Such a company would concentrate close to 50% of upstream employment in the sector and 75% of sales. It would represent a shift without precedent, profoundly altering Europe’s current industrial structure, shaped by decades of industrial policy.
We are facing a crucial moment that will define, in the long term, the future of a sector as strategic as space”
In Spain, this process would have a direct impact on Airbus, CRISA, TAS-E and Telespazio Ibérica, adding to the formation of Indra Space and its acquisition processes involving Hispasat and Hisdesat. All of this raises numerous questions; in any case, it is certain that it will shape an entirely new industrial landscape.
We are therefore facing a period of opportunities without precedent, but also of significant risks. For Spain to play a meaningful role and seize these opportunities, it will be necessary to further increase investment momentum, foster national innovation and ensure that industrial concentration does not limit competitiveness or diversity in the sector.
We are facing a crucial moment that will define, in the long term, the future of a sector as strategic as space. Maximum ambition and determination are urgently required if Spain and its industry are to play an important role.damos jugar un papel importante.
