Our story: the evolution of Airbus

Descended from legends

In the late 1960s, Airbus’ predecessors from France, Germany, the UK, and Spain laid the foundation for today’s industry leader through cooperation on the A300 programme. This cooperation would expand to the fields of rotary wing aircraft, air power and space. This is the story of how cooperation would lead to integration and the emergence of the industry leader Airbus is today.

Commercial aircraft history

The advent of the jet engine in the 1950s, revolutionised commercial air transport. The Sud Aviation SE.210 Caravelle, was one of the most advanced jetliners of its time with many innovative features. France's Sud Aviation and UK's BAC followed up with the Concorde, a symbol of successful technical cooperation, cutting edge technology and performance, which remains unrivalled. Many firsts introduced by Concorde would go on to benefit its descendants.

In 1972, Airbus presented the A300, the first twin-engine wide-body airliner, marking the beginning of a new era for air transport with increased passenger capacities and unrivalled operational efficiency.

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Airbus Helicopters history

The history of the helicopter in Europe began in the 1920s and 1930s with autogyros and early rotorcraft designed by Juan De La Cierva, Paul Cornu and Heinrich Focke amongst others. But it wasn't until the 1950s that the industry really took off with the successful development of helicopter families by Sud-Aviation and Bolkow/MBB in Germany.

The merger of the helicopter divisions of France's Aérospatiale and Germany's DASA, in 1992, gave birth to Eurocopter, which would become a world leader in its field. In 2014, Eurocopter became Airbus Helicopters, strengthening the group's position in the rotorcraft sector thanks to its successful range of helicopters.

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Airbus Defence history

The foundations for cooperation between European companies in the field of defence were laid in the late 1940s and 1950s with a series of projects for the production under license of the French Nord Noratlas and Fouga Magister in Germany. These were followed by the joint development in the 1960s of the Transall C-160 between France and Germany.

In the 1970s the Panavia Tornado further illustrated the importance of developing a collective approach to defence challenges. In the 1980s Spain’s CASA developed a successful family of military transport aircraft and trainers. The European defence industry was bolstered in 2000 under the EADS, and subsequently Airbus, banners with the mergers of France's Aérospatiale, Spain's CASA and Germany's DASA.

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Airbus Space history

In 1965, France would become the third country after the USSR and the USA to put a satellite into orbit with its own launcher, the Diamant-A. This success stimulated cooperation with Germany and the UK on the Europa rocket programme which would lead to the creation of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1975. France's Aérospatiale would go on to be the lead integrator on the Ariane programme, which became a key player in satellite launches.

In 2000, the integration of the space activities of Aerospatiale, Dasa and Matra Marconi into Airbus consolidated European expertise, enabling the development of ambitious projects such as the Galileo program and space exploration missions.

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