March 19, 2021 – During a recent meeting in Rome between Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, and Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italian Minister of Economic Development, Arianespace announced the signature of an agreement with Avio to start production of 10 new Vega C launch vehicles. This agreement kicks off the procurement of long lead-time items and the initial activities for the production of 10 new launchers, to be delivered from 2023. Arianespace, the European launch services company, announced today the signature of an agreement with Avio, industrial prime contractor for the Vega and Vega C launchers, to start production of a batch of ten new Vega C rockets, to be launched as from 2023. Vega C launchers produced within Batch 4 will serve institutional and commercial missions from 2023 onwards; in particular, they will contribute to the fulfillment of strategic objectives selected by European institutions, either collectively through ESA and the European Commission, or for national purposes. Thus, 2021 will see the contracting by Arianespace of launch services for the next nine Copernicus satellites within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 of the European Commission.