Xinhua Agency, Paris, October 24 (Reporter Cui Kexin) Europe's three major aerospace giants Airbus, Thales and Italy's Leonardo signed a memorandum of understanding on the 23rd, planning to establish a new company to merge their respective satellite and space businesses to strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy in the space field.

In a joint statement issued on the same day, the three parties said that if approved by regulators, the new company is expected to be officially put into operation in 2027, employing approximately 25,000 employees across Europe, and its annual turnover is expected to reach 6.5 billion euros.

The new company aims to integrate the business of the three largest European space companies in the fields of satellite and space systems manufacturing and space services to create a unified, integrated and resilient European space company with a critical scale for competing in the global market and expanding exports.

The statement said that the establishment of the new company "is an important milestone in strengthening the European space ecosystem and will enhance Europe's position in innovation, strategic autonomy and global competitiveness".

France's Le Monde published an article saying that the plan aims to counter the dominant position of the US Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's "Star Link" satellite network services.

It is that the new company will be headquartered in Toulouse, in the southwestern French city, with Airbus, Thales and Leonardo companies having production and R&D centers in the area, etc. Airbus said that through the integration of resources and the sharing of technology, it is expected to save "hundreds of millions of euros" annually.