Airbus and Critical Software have signed an agreement to establish a new joint venture, Critical FlyTech, that will focus on the development of embedded software and services for aerospace applications to Airbus and its affiliated companies.
Headquartered in Coimbra, with an additional office in Lisbon, the company will support Airbus’ leadership in the aerospace sector through the design and development of high-assurance, mission-critical solutions and certifiable software across several domains, including avionics, cabin and connectivity systems.
The joint venture will be 51% owned by Airbus and 49% by Critical Software. This partnership reinforces Airbus’ investment in Portugal and merges its extensive expertise in aerospace with Critical Software’s proven track record in embedded and safety-critical software engineering.
Critical FlyTech will be headed by Ricardo Armas and plans to launch early next year with an initial team of 120 employees and to grow to 300 employees by the end of 2028.
The team, as part of Airbus' specialised ecosystem and global footprint, will bring together strategic skills in the long term that are key to safety, performance and certification across every platform, aligned with the growing complexity and digitalisation of aerospace systems.
