Airbus Defence and Space's long-held ambition to become the sole master of Europe's rocket sector, which seemed within its grasp a few months ago, is now threatened by Airbus' own missteps, according to European government and industry officials. How Airbus, after its brilliant tour de force in 2014 - winning government and industry backing for an Airbus-backed next-generation Ariane 6 rocket against a competing European government design -found itself in such a messy struggle is a story still being played out. As of mid-March, it appeared that the key strategic goal of building an Ariane 6 rocket on time and on budget had not yet been affected by the issues of tax liability, industrial influence and national pride that are creating roadblocks to Airbus' proposed industrial reorganization around Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), the Ariane 6 prime contractor.
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