Analysis
How to tackle the German space market
Swiss Business Hub Germany in collaboration with DIMOS (Digital Mobility Operating Systems)
Jun 26, 2026
Germany is one of Europe’s main aerospace locations. It combines a large civil aviation industry with a space sector that is strongly shaped by public programs, alongside a growing group of commercial New Space companies.
This article updates the comprehensive report published in 2022.
Industry association BDLI (Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie) reports headline figures for Germany of EUR 52 billion in total aerospace turnover and around 120,000 employees.
Depending on the subsector, there are two distinct market logics:
Civil aviation (EUR 39 billion in turnover), where customers and regulators place strong emphasis on traceability, documentation, and consistent quality.
- Space (EUR 3 billion in turnover), where opportunities often follow program cycles and partnership structures, and where commercial New Space players may move faster but still require rigorous engineering and quality assurance, depending on the mission and customer.
Civil aviation: how the market works
Germany’s civil aviation market covers the full value chain, with a well-developed landscape of Tier‑1 and Tier‑2 suppliers alongside major OEM and MRO buyers. Day-to-day business is often shaped by these buyer and integrator organizations and their supplier systems. Discussions with suppliers tend to move quickly from product performance to execution topics such as repeatable production, configuration control and the ability to provide complete, audit-ready evidence packages.
At European level, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) sets the common regulatory framework for civil aviation. Different rule sets apply depending on the activity. For design and production, the main reference is EASA Part 21, which sets out rules and guidance for aircraft and parts certification and for organizational approvals such as Design Organization Approval (DOA) and Production Organization Approval (POA). It shapes how design data, production control and compliance evidence are handled across the supply chain. In Germany, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) is the competent authority in this area and covers approval, oversight and consulting of manufacturing organizations under EASA Part 21/G.
A separate market segment is the aftermarket. Germany hosts major maintenance organizations, and procurement is often handled through established buyer interfaces. For companies targeting maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), these channels can be useful to understand categories, onboarding steps and compliance requirements.
Civil aviation: selected market players
- Airbus (Germany / Airbus Operations)
- MTU Aero Engines
- Lufthansa Technik (MRO)
- Diehl Aviation
- Rolls‑Royce (Germany)
- Deutsche Aircraft
- Alexander Schleicher (sailplanes)
Civil aviation: main industry trends
Industrial resilience and supply assurance. After recent supply-chain disruptions, many buyers are putting more weight on delivery reliability, second sources, and the ability to ramp or stabilize output without quality drift. This tends to favor suppliers who can show robust capacity planning, risk management, and transparent recovery behavior when issues occur.
Industrialization of new technologies. Buyers are looking beyond prototypes. Topics such as advanced materials, automation, and digital manufacturing matter most when they translate into repeatable production, stable yields, and auditable process control.
Sustainability pressure moving into procurement. Decarbonization targets increasingly show up as requirements on materials, processes, and reporting (for example, emissions transparency and compliance expectations in the supply chain). For suppliers, this often becomes a “qualification” topic rather than a marketing topic.
Aftermarket efficiency and uptime economics. In MRO, the trend is toward reducing downtime risk: faster turnaround, better parts availability, and data-supported maintenance planning. Suppliers that can quantify operational impact (availability, lifecycle cost, reliability) tend to get more attention than those who only argue performance.
Space: institutions, budgets and a changing commercial layer
The German Aerospace Center Agency at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) is the key interface for national programs and for Germany’s participation in ESA and EUMETSAT. DLR reports a 2024 budget for the German Space Agency of around EUR 1,578m (excluding EUMETSAT), including around EUR 1,249m for Germany’s ESA contribution and EUR 277m for the National Space Program.
German Aerospace Center locations, source: German Aerospace Center
Alongside institutional programs, Germany has a growing commercial space segment often described as “New Space”, especially active in earth observation, communication and navigation, and the ecosystem around small satellites, including components and subsystems for smallsat platforms. “NewSpace” comes with a wider range of customer expectations. Some commercial players move quickly and focus on industrialization—repeatable production, supply assurance, test capacity and cost-down. Others operate in hybrid settings where institutional requirements still apply, either directly or through prime contractors and integrators. In those cases, documentation and verification can look much closer to traditional program work.
Space: selected market players
- Airbus Space (Germany)
- OHB
- Isar Aerospace
- Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)
- Mynaric
Space: Main industry trends
More demand for speed—without losing rigor. Commercial space activity (“NewSpace”) pushes faster cycles, but many missions still require program-grade verification and documentation. Buyers increasingly expect suppliers to handle both: quick iterations early, disciplined evidence at delivery.
Industrialization and small-series production. As constellations, small satellites, and responsive launch concepts mature, buyers focus more on repeatability, test throughput, supply assurance, and cost-down roadmaps—especially for components that must be produced and qualified in volume.
Dual-use and security considerations. Geopolitics and resilience concerns are strengthening demand for capabilities that serve both civil and security-related needs. This can affect procurement priorities, compliance expectations, and partnering structures.
Launch and access-to-space momentum. Germany’s microlauncher ecosystem and related supply chains are developing. For suppliers, this can create opportunities in propulsion, structures, avionics, ground systems, test infrastructure, and production equipment—often with strong emphasis on manufacturability and qualification.
Regulation outlook: a Space Act is being prepared
Germany has published official “key points” for a future Space Act (4 September 2024), signaling that the regulatory framework for space activities is likely to evolve. The German law is expected to sit alongside the planned EU Space Act, which was proposed by the European Commission on 25 June 2025.
Regional access points: clusters that help you navigate
Germany’s aerospace activity is spread across several regions. Cluster organizations can be useful as structured entry points for ecosystem mapping, introductions and partner searches.
- Baden-Wuerttemberg: LR BW
- Bavaria: bavAIRia
- Bremen: AVIASPACE Bremen
- Berlin‑Brandenburg: Cluster Mobility and Logistics (aerospace cluster page)
- Lake Constance / Baden‑Württemberg: BodenseeAIRea (Clusterportal BW)
Practical notes for market development
Large buyers in aviation usually have formal supplier processes, with defined onboarding steps and standard tools for day-to-day collaboration. At the same time, supplier engagement often starts earlier than the purchasing step. During development and program set-up, when system architecture and work packages are being defined, suppliers may already be selected and integrated into the engineering and industrialization approach.
For MRO-oriented offers, access is often shaped by approved-vendor status, release documentation and traceability expectations, and category fit, and is typically less driven by long aircraft program cycles. Early discussions tend to focus on whether a supplier can support operational continuity—lead times, repair/overhaul turnaround, spares availability, and predictable quality—within the buyer’s established processes. Procurement interfaces such as Lufthansa Technik’s purchasing entry points can be useful as a map of how supplier engagement is structured.
Despite the importance of the German Space Agency for the sector, many concrete work packages are placed through primes and system integrators, with suppliers joining at subsystem level or as specialist contributors. In that setting, Swiss companies are often most effective when they enter with a clearly defined role in a work package covering parts of development, qualification, or industrialization. For suppliers, the practical challenge is to stay credible across different customer rhythms: some opportunities follow calls and program timelines, others move on commercial schedules, and hybrid missions can combine both—fast decisions up front, but program-grade verification and documentation at delivery.
Next steps and how S‑GE can support
A practical way to proceed is to start with a clear view of the market landscape—relevant segments, typical buyer groups and, in space, the main programs and industrial set-ups. Based on that, companies can prioritize where to focus and approach the most relevant potential customers and partners.
S‑GE can support throughout, from Germany-focused market clarification and targeting to introductions and the preparation of a focused outreach approach. Companies can also use S-GE’s hands-on formats to accelerate market entry: the fact finding mission to southern Germany offers direct insights into the aerospace ecosystem, while the SWISS Pavilion at Space Tech Expo Europe helps companies raise visibility and connect with potential clients and partners in the European space market.
Sources (selected)
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