Credit: Avio / Eric Vandeville
French missile manufacturer MBDA has awarded Italian rocket builder Avio a €35 million contract to provide solid rocket motors and aerodynamic surfaces for an unnamed air defence system. The company also revealed last week that it expects to receive over €600 million in new contracts based on the results of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen in late November.
Avio is currently supplying components for two MBDA surface-to-air missile systems, the CAMM-ER (Common Anti-air Modular Missile – Extended Range) and the ASTER 30.
The company’s involvement with the ASTER 30 programme is long-running, dating back to the Fiat Avio era well before 2020. The most recent contract directly attributed to the ASTER 30 programme announced by Avio was a €50 million order in July 2025 for the supply of solid rocket motors and related aerodynamic surfaces.
In 2023, Avio was awarded an initial contract to design a larger rocket motor for the CAMM-ER programme. This was followed by a €150 million contract in December 2024 for an initial order of rocket motors.
On 5 December, Avio announced that MBDA had awarded it a €35 million contract to supply solid rocket motors and related aerodynamic surfaces for an air defence system.
Although the exact air defence system was not specified, it is notable that an order covering both rocket motors and aerodynamic surfaces over a period of roughly five years closely mirrors the ASTER 30 order awarded in July, with an almost identical breakdown. As a result, the new €35 million contract may be a follow-on or add-on to that earlier award.
Over €600 million in new contracts expected
While Avio’s defence business continues to develop, the company is also expected to see a surge in contracts for its civil programmes following funding decisions made at the 2025 ESA Ministerial Council meeting (CM25). According to Avio, it expects to be awarded new contracts with a total value exceeding €600 million.
At CM25, ESA Member States agreed to contributions totalling a record-setting €22.32 billion. The largest share went to the agency’s Space Transportation programme, which received €4.689 billion in commitments, approximately 21% of all funds.
Italy committed just under €3.5 billion, an increase of approximately €400 million from the previous funding period.
Its contributions included €139.15 million for a Vega High-Thrust Engine Development programme (likely the company’s methalox MR60 rocket engine) and €15.98 million to continue developing the reusable Space Rider spacecraft through its first flight, which will be launched aboard a Vega C rocket in the first quarter of 2028.
Italy contributed €101.40 million and €46.10 million for the early exploitation of Ariane 6 and Vega C, respectively. In addition to early exploitation, it is supporting the full exploitation of Ariane 6 and Vega C with €27.06 million and €56.74 million, respectively. To ensure long-term sustainability, its contributions included €93.01 million for Vega C adaptations and €16.91 million for P120C booster adaptations. Preparations for the future also include €17.77 million for the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme.
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