Airbus in Spain is a major part of the Airbus global aerospace network and one of Spain’s most important aerospace and defence organizations. Spain is one of Airbus’ four founding countries and has a long aerospace heritage dating back to the establishment of Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) in 1923. Today, Airbus operates major activities in commercial aircraft, helicopters, defence and space, with production, engineering, research and development, assembly, maintenance and support facilities across Spain. Airbus has more than 14,000 employees across 9 major sites in 6 cities, with important operations concentrated in Getafe/Madrid, Seville, Albacete, Illescas, Cádiz and other locations. Getafe serves as the national headquarters and is one of Airbus’ largest sites, while Spain also hosts major final assembly and industrial activities for aircraft such as the A400M and C295, participation in the Eurofighter programme, Airbus commercial-aircraft component manufacturing, helicopter production and satellite/space systems. Airbus Commercial Aircraft in Spain employs around 4,500 people and manufactures major structural components such as rear fuselages, empennages and large carbon-fibre structures.