Largest shareholders
The 10 largest shareholder of Airbus in early 2024 were:[62]
Government of France (10.83%)
Government of Germany (10.82%)
Government of Spain (4.081%)
The Children's Investment Fund Management (3.013%)
Amundi (0.3994%)
Silverbay Capital Management (0.2518%)
OFI Invest Asset Management (0.1688%)
Crédit Mutuel (0.1611%)
Moneta Asset Management (0.1139%)
Rothschild & Co (0.1110%)
Airbus Defence and Space markets and either builds or modifies new aircraft for military use. Airbus became increasingly interested in developing and selling to the military aviation market in the late 1990s. It embarked on two main fields of development: aerial refuelling with the Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) and later the Airbus A330 MRTT, and tactical airlift with the Airbus A400M Atlas. The company has also continued to market and assemble some military aircraft previously offered by the companies that formed Airbus, notably CASA.
The A310 and A330-based MRTT aircraft are conversions of civilian airliners. The aircraft are called multi-role tanker transports because, in addition to their aerial refuelling capability, the aircraft can also be configured for troop transport, medevac, and cargo transportation.
The A400M Atlas is a four-engine, turboprop-powered tactical transport aircraft. The A400M is sized between the American-made C-130 and the C-17 transports, and while it can carry heavier loads than the C-130, its turboprop engines allow it to retain the ability to use rough landing strips. The A400M was developed for European NATO members Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK, as an alternative to relying on foreign aircraft. During development, the A400M programme faced delays and cost overruns;[46][47] with customer nations stepping in offer additional subsidies.[48][49] The first aircraft was delivered to the French Air Force in 2013, and by 2023, more than 100 aircraft had been built.
The Defence and Space division also market and assembles the EADS CASA C295, a smaller tactical transport aircraft, that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA.
The company is also a 50% owner of the ArianeGroup joint venture which builds the Ariane 5 space launch vehicle, a 46% owner of the Eurofighter joint venture which builds the Typhoon fighter jet, a 42.5% owner of the Panavia Aircraft joint venture which built the Tornado fighter jet, a 37.5% owner of the MBDA joint venture which builds missiles, and a 10% owner of Dassault Aviation which builds the Rafale fighter jet, and previously, the Mirage 2000 fighter.