Airbus, Thales and Italy's Leonardo said Thursday they would combine their satellite and other space businesses to create a major European player in a strategically crucial industry.

The merger, the financial details of which were not disclosed, comes as companies like Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper are racing to deploy satellite networks for internet and other services.

The three companies said the merger aims "to strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy in space, a major sector that underpins critical infrastructure and services related to telecommunications, global navigation, earth observation, science, exploration and national security".

It would not include space launchers such as Airbus's Ariane rockets.

Annual revenues for the combined group were estimated at 6.

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