Airbus Defence and Space

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Skynet 6A: Britain’s £500 Million Bet on Military Space Sovereignty

Skynet 6A: Britain’s £500 Million Bet on Military Space Sovereignty

On February 16, 2021, the UK Ministry of Defence and Airbus signed a £500 million contract for the Skynet 6A military communications satellite — the...

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The Caracal in Combat: France’s H225M and the Global Special Operations Mission

The Caracal in Combat: France’s H225M and the Global Special Operations Mission

In the pre-dawn hours of August 2013, a French Caracal helicopter — the H225M designation not yet fully established in public consciousness — extracted a...

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NATO’s Most Capable Military Tanker: How the A330 MRTT Redefined European Power Projection

NATO’s Most Capable Military Tanker: How the A330 MRTT Redefined European Power Projection

When France required aerial refueling support for its strike aircraft operating over Libya in 2011, its tanker fleet was aging C-135FRs — modified KC-135 variants...

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How the Airbus C295 Became the World’s Best-Selling European Military Transport Aircraft

How the Airbus C295 Became the World’s Best-Selling European Military Transport Aircraft

In September 2021, India and Airbus signed a contract for 56 C295 aircraft worth approximately $2.5 billion — a transaction that would have been notable...

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NATO’s Most Debated Helicopter: The NH90’s Operational Record and Australia’s Warning

NATO’s Most Debated Helicopter: The NH90’s Operational Record and Australia’s Warning

In September 2023, the Royal Australian Air Force formally retired the last of its 47 MRH90 Taipan helicopters — the Australian designation for the NH90...

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Europe’s Sovereignty in the Skies: The Eurodrone MALE RPAS and the ITAR Independence Imperative

Europe’s Sovereignty in the Skies: The Eurodrone MALE RPAS and the ITAR Independence Imperative

Europe's dependence on American and Israeli unmanned aerial systems for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance has been a source of strategic discomfort for over a...