Arianespace CEO David Cavaillolès has called on either the European Commission or the German government to place block orders for 10 to 20 Ariane 6 launches, arguing that such a commitment would transform how the company approaches its supply chain.
Speaking to German defence publication Hartpunkt, Cavaillolès made the comments amid a broader discussion of rising demand for military satellite launches. He pointed specifically to a September 2025 speech by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in which he announced €35 billion in spending on space-related defence projects as a “turning point” for launch demand. However, he cautioned that the political decisions needed to enable European launch providers to meet that demand would have to come quickly, warning that waiting until 2027 or 2028 would be too late.
Cavaillolès contrasted Europe’s current approach of purchasing launches individually with the US’s practice of placing multi-launch orders, which he said gives American companies “planning security over several years.” In April 2025, the US Space Force awarded SpaceX a block of 28 national security launches under a multi-year contract valued at $5.9 billion, providing a recent example of the long-term planning security afforded to US launch providers.
“If Germany or the European Commission were to buy 10 or 20 rockets at a time tomorrow, it would completely change how our supply chain plans, invests and manages costs,” Cavaillolès told Hartpunkt, according to a translation.
Within the Ariane 6 launch vehicle’s current architecture, Arianespace can conduct approximately nine launches per year. However, efforts are underway to increase that capacity.
Speaking at a briefing following ESA’s Council meeting in June, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher explained that studies were underway to raise the Ariane 6 launch cadence to 12, 15, or even 20 flights per year. He added that each option would carry different costs and implementation timelines, and that any increase would depend on sufficient demand for the additional launch capacity.
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