Maritime data provider Kpler has reached an agreement with Airbus to expand its ability to track vessels that disappear from conventional ship-tracking systems, adding daily satellite imagery to help identify...

Airbus Defence and Space ha entregado al Ministerio de Defensa el tercer Airbus A330 MRTT que entrará en las filas del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio y que operará el Ala 45 desde la Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz. Este pedido entra en el programa de aviones cisterna y de transporte multimisión realizado por España en 2021.

La entrega de este avión ha tenido lugar en las instalaciones de Airbus en Getafe, donde se encuentra el Centro de Conversión del A330 MRTT. Los Airbus A330 MRTT para el Ejército del Aire y del Espacio se encuentran equipados con un sistema de reabastecimiento de tipo manguera y cesta de última generación y disponen de una autonomía de más de 18 horas de vuelo y un alcance de 16.000 kilómetros. 

El A330 MRTT, que cuenta con más de 375.000 horas de vuelo, es el único avión cisterna y de transporte estratégico de nueva generación disponible y operativo en la actualidad. Su gran capacidad básica de carga de combustible de 111 toneladas le permiten, entre otras funciones, desempeñar con éxito misiones de repostaje aéreo sin necesidad de añadir depósitos de combustible adicionales.

Hasta la fecha, Airbus Defence and Space cuenta con una cartera de pedidos de 91 A330 MRTT, de los cuales ha entregado 68 aviones a más de 18 países. 

The EU plans to fast-track antitrust approval for Project Bromo, a satellite venture meant to cut Europe's reliance on American space technology, Bloomberg reports. The news comes days after the White House ordered the Pentagon to slow Starshield, the military-grade Starlink service Ukraine's forces use, according to Reuters.

Project Bromo would merge the satellite businesses of Italy’s Leonardo and France’s Airbus and Thales into one company. Bloomberg calls it the bloc’s answer to SpaceX, and the EU sees it as a regional giant able to compete with US and Chinese rivals.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed the project, Eunews reports.

“These are the types of industrial champions we need if Europe is to lead in the space economy of tomorrow,” she said at an international space summit in Paris last month, citing Bromo by name.

A year of quiet groundwork before the filing

Over the past year, the partners and EU officials have worked through potential competition concerns so they can be resolved before a formal application, according to Bloomberg. The companies have not yet applied, but Brussels expects them to in the coming weeks.

For large deals, regulators usually hold such preliminary talks to flag obstacles early. If the companies offer concessions, such as selling some assets, the deal could clear after a first-phase review of a little over a month. If competition concerns remain, the Commission could open an in-depth probe lasting several months.

The caveat behind the SpaceX-rival label

A fast review is not a free pass. Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera has warned that the project cannot expect one, and unions and suppliers have raised concerns about jobs and competition, Bloomberg reports. Von der Leyen’s public backing drew criticism from some members of the European Parliament.

Her support “doesn’t mean we are not going to apply and to enforce our own regulation,” Ribera told Bloomberg TV.

Why it matters to Ukraine

The push is part of a wider European scramble for space autonomy. Ukraine wants to build a satellite system of its own that no single company controls.

This week showed why. After the Starshield order, the military-grade terminals stopped working on fast-moving objects, and now work only at speeds of up to 160 kph, a person in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told Reuters. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory and slowed the interceptor drones that shoot down Shaheds.

Washington is limiting the parts it licenses to the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac), the maker of the C919 passenger jet, triggering fears among Chinese pundits that it could ban the US-made engines the jet relies on. The Trump administration has been using China’s reliance on US aviation suppliers as leverage in trade talks, […]

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