(Alliance News) - Avio Spa reported Tuesday that a European Space Agency council was held in Seville yesterday, where the Ariane 6, Vega C and Vega E programs were also discussed.

The main outcomes of the council relates to covering, through additional funding, part of the extra production costs resulting largely from the super-inflationary push that has emerged in the last 2 years in the euro zone, particularly for Ariane 6 up to EUR340 million per year and for Vega C up to EUR21 million per year.

The prospect of a minimum number of European institutional launches was discussed, both for Ariane 6 - four flights per year - and for Vega C with three flights per year, increased from what has already been envisaged in previous years thanks also to the growth in size of the various European satellite programs; again, the opening of a competition in the European launcher sector through a special competitive procedure by ESA to develop and demonstrate the launch capacity of new systems up to EUR150 million was discussed.

Also discussed was the gradual assumption by Avio, by mid-2024, of the functions of Launch Service Operator and Launch Service Provider of Vega C, i.e., responsibilities for flight operations and commercialization rights of Vega C, with the expectation of an understanding to be reached between Arianespace and Avio for the management of the 17 flights already contracted.

Finally, the talks also concerned the allocation to Vega C and Vega E, at the Kourou space center, of an existing facility that will be dedicated to launcher pre-integration for the purpose of increasing the annual launch frequency and the related allocation to Vega E of the launch pad previously used by Ariane 5.

Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, commented, "The outcomes of this ESA Ministerial Council confirm the priority objective of preserving and consolidating Europe's autonomous access to space. They also set an effective balance point between the necessary continuity of existing programs and opening up to a new competitive scenario. In this context, Avio will continue and strengthen its commitment to ensuring increasingly reliable and competitive products in a very fast-growing market, thanks also to the support of institutions and industrial partners."

Avio's stock is up 1.4 percent at EUR7.76 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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