Before any technical decisions can get finalized, the companies need to figure out how to “reach an agreement that satisfies the interests of all three nations in terms of participation on an equal footing,” as a German Defense Ministry report wrote in June.
The new UK space strategy "seems to be in Boris’ own words “spacetastic”: a positive big picture, but very thin on detail. The U.K. does not have the kind of money needed to fulfill all its aspirations," said Alex Walmsley, associate fellow at RUSI.
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
"As you know, from Airbus we have a pedigree -- we're probably the leader in commercial SAR capabilities," says Chris Emerson, CEO of the new Airbus U.S. Space & Defense.
While industry remains hopeful, GAO says DoD lacks a plan for integrating commercial satellite communications capabilities.