Airbus bullish on space business in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is optimistic about the growth opportunities of its space business in the Philippines.

“The Philippines has established recently PhilSA, a space agency. We have been very pleased to have been   selected in a contact with our subsidiary SSTL from UK in order to start very small satellite systems,” Airbus Defense and Space’s Asia-Pacific head Johan Pelissier said in a recent virtual briefing.

“That’s probably an area which will also grow in the future and where it could also have some impact on our footprint in the Philippines,” Pelissier said.

PhilSA or the Philippine Space Agency is the country’s national space agency established in 2019.

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space, and related services.

Airbus Space supplies reliable systems that range from electronic components to full telecommunications relay platforms, scientific satellites and crewed spacecraft. It also provides solutions for customers and their programs around the globe.

Aside from space systems, Airbus is also looking forward to more Philippine orders of its military aircraft.

Pelissier said the Philippine Air Force is currently operating four C295 aircraft.

“In the Philippines, we are very pleased to have been selected a few years back for the C295, which is really a work horse for the Philippine Air Force. The C295 is a product that could even be interesting for the Philippine Navy and Air Force as a maritime portfolio since the C295 can also be equipped with some suites for maritime surveillance and maritime patrol,” he said.

“And we also see the potential for A400M in this country in the next years to come,” Pelissier said.

Pelissier earlier said the aircraft manufacturing giant is ready to meet the Philippines’ defense, space, communications and security requirements with the company’s new products and services.

Airbus Defense and Space chief executive officer Dirk Hoke, for his part, said Asia-Pacific is considered as a growth region for the company, with growth rates for both defense and space higher than in the other parts of the world.

“It is an interesting market. You will find each of the countries in Asia -Pacific being an interesting market for us,” Hoke said.

“We will have concrete roadmaps, action plans for each   of the countries in Asia- Pacific in order to make sure that we see continuous growth in the years to come,” he said.