Sovereignty in Focus: ArianeGroup at MSC 2026

From 13 to 15 February, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2026 brought together a record number of participants, including more than sixty heads of state and government and some 700 distinguished guests. ArianeGroup played an important role in this high-level event.

Over the decades, the Munich Security Conference has become a premier forum for political, military and economic leaders from all over the world, as well as experts from non-governmental organisations and renowned universities, to exchange views and analyses on foreign policy and security issues. In the current context of heightened international tensions, its relevance is greater than ever.

On the eve of the conference, ArianeGroup hosted its own event, where Vincent Pery, Director of Defence Programmes, Jens Franzeck, Chief Industrial Officer (CIO), and Pierre Godart, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) welcomed around 150 guests and presented a selection of the company’s flagship programmes. The spotlight was on the Astris and Astralis stage solutions for In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS), the Helix space surveillance service, the SyLEx sounding rocket system, and the ground-based tactical ballistic missile (MBT) project. Naturally, Ariane 6 also featured prominently, with a live broadcast of Ariane 64’s first flight allowing guests to follow an exceptional milestone and a major success in the history of Europe’s heavy-lift launcher.

Following this highlight, Vincent Pery and Alexander Bollfrass of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) provided insights of ballistic battle and space convergence, meaning compressed battlespace and challenging Europe strategic positioning. Both emphasised the importance for Europe of maintaining the capacity to act independently in this domain, while preserving the transatlantic partnership.

“European industry has a responsibility in this regard, and the dual, French-German nature of ArianeGroup is a key enabler for scaling up European solutions at lowest development risks”, Vincent Pery noted, stressing the vital need for credible conventional ballistic capability, underpinned by political oversight and strategic restraint. With decades of experience in ballistic missile systems, ArianeGroup already has the unique expertise required to develop conventional ballistic systems and meet the needs of its European partners.

In addition to the reception held the day before the conference, ArianeGroup also took part in a round-table discussion during the event itself. Jens Franzeck addressed the question of European sovereignty in space alongside Hermann Ludwig Moeller, Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), and Laurent Jaffart, Director of Resilience, Navigation & Connectivity at ESA. The discussion focused in particular on measures to sustain demand for launch services, scale up industrial capacity, align commercial objectives and foster international cooperation.

At the close of the conference, Thomas Tschirner, Director of Defence Programmes at ArianeGroup in Germany, emphasised the importance of this event: “The MSC provides a valuable forum for key stakeholders in the space and defence sector to exchange ideas, visions and perspectives. This dialogue is essential to identify ways to collectively improve our solutions and thereby strengthen Europe’s position in this field. During the event, ArianeGroup impressively demonstrated its capabilities and competences to support these ambitions, which were well received and recognized  by the participants of our event.”