[11] The merger of British Aerospace and MES to form BAE Systems was announced on 19 January 1999 and completed on 30 November.

[16] In January 2001 Airbus Industries was transformed from an inherently dysfunctional consortium structure to a formal joint stock company, with legal and tax procedures being finalized on 11 July.

[17][18] On 16 June 2003, EADS acquired BAE's 25 % share in Astrium, the satellite and space system manufacturer, to become the sole owner.

In May 2003, the company was restructured as Airbus Military Sociedad Limitada (AMSL) prior to the execution of the production contract.

[21] In 1999, Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) in the EADS Group (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) was incorporated.

Also, Paradigm Secure Communications, initially created by Astrium in the frame of the Skynet 5 contract for the UK Ministry of defence became the major constituent of EADS SPACE Services.

In it, the activities of missile systems (LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH), defence electronics, military aircraft and telecommunications of the EADS Group were merged.

[24] On 18 March 2016 the company decided to sell its defence electronics business (Defence Electronics) based in Ulm to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a global investment firm with a wide-ranging portfolio including Hospital Corporation of America, NXP Semiconductors, TDC A/S, and Dollar General.

[26] In April 2022, Airbus Defence and Space acquired the German-based cryptography and communication systems company, DSI Datensicherheit GmbH.

The EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45 was a version of the A330 MRTT proposed for the United States Air Force.The Airbus A400M Atlas[31][32] is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.

Its largest customer is Turkey, which has 59 aircraft.The EADS CASA C-295 is a twin-turboprop tactical military transport aircraft, and is currently manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in Spain.

[34][35] The Typhoon was designed and is manufactured by a consortium of Alenia Aermacchi, Airbus and BAE Systems that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, formed in 1986.

[36] Another attack aircraft, the New Generation Fighter (NGF), is currently under development as part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

This fully automatic unmanned aircraft can be deployed in all weather conditions, flat terrain, mountainous areas or urban environments.

European HALE RPAS is a long-endurance aerial drone system designed for surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition.

The main purpose of the European UAS is to provide wide-area ground and maritime surveillance along with reconnaissance of specific areas.

Euro Hawk was based on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Block 20/30/40 and was to be equipped with an Airbus Defence and Space-built SIGINT package; it was intended to fulfil Germany's requirement to replace their aging Dassault-Breguet Atlantique electronic surveillance aircraft of the Marineflieger (the German naval air arm).

ATLANTE is a tactical unmanned aerial system for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions by day and night for ground forces.

[44] In May 2016, Airbus and Safran agreed that their joint venture would work on upgrading the M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile to the M51.3 standard for the French Navy.

In January 2013, NASA announced that the European Space Agency (ESA) will construct the service module for Artemis 1, replacing the previous design.

It provides the water and oxygen needed for a habitable environment, generates and stores electrical power, and maintains the temperature of the vehicle's systems and components.

[49] The mission will test technologies needed for the Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA), an ESA gravitational wave observatory planned to be launched in 2034.

[51][52] The mission aims to construct the largest and most precise 3D space catalog ever made and totaling approximately 1 billion astronomical objects, mainly stars but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars among others.

The mission was launched with an Atlas V from the Cape Canaveral AFS in Florida at 5:03 Central European Time (CET) on 10 February 2020.

The mission will perform a comprehensive study on Mercury, including its magnetic field, magnetosphere, interior structure and surface.

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an active European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft designed by Airbus Defence and Space to visit the Jovian system, focused on studying three of Jupiter's Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa (excluding the more volcanically active Io).

[62] It will characterize these three worlds, all of which are thought to have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their surfaces, making them potentially habitable environments.

[70][71] Airbus Defence and Space is the world's largest supplier of Earth observation systems with more than fifty satellites launched and 18 more under construction.

More than 70 Eurostar satellites have been ordered to date, of which more than 55 have been successfully launched since October 1990 and have proven highly reliable in operational service.

One Atlas was developed for defence or security missions and operations, for example, assisting in the mapping, reporting, and updating of positions, movements, or risk areas, but also providing intelligence when selecting transportation routes and access points.