Airbus Defence and Space has signed the initial contract to design and build the first layer of satellites for Europe’s sovereign IRIS² constellation. Eutelsat, responsible for the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) segment of the constellation in the SpaceRISE consortium, has enabled Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to begin work on the first layer of satellites.
IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is the EU's new flagship space programme for a digital, resilient, and safer Europe. With a multi-orbit satellite constellation, it will deliver resilient and secure connectivity solutions to governments to protect European citizens and will provide commercial services in the interest of European economies and societies. It will also bolster the EU partnership policy by offering its infrastructure abroad.
In the framework of the industrial set-up delivering IRIS², Airbus and Thales Alenia Space are responsible for the first layer of the LEO segment, composed of at least sixty-six satellites, to be delivered in 2029. Airbus leverages past years' investments in LEO constellations and will scale up its industrial capacity to meet planning and performance expectations for this first layer of the LEO segment. This layer is the sovereign pillar of the IRIS² project, delivering military Ka-bands to future European users.
Airbus will produce the platforms and integrate the satellites with the payload from Thales Alenia Space, benefiting from its serial production facility in Toulouse, transferred back to Europe, and already building the new batch of OneWeb satellites for Eutelsat.
“It is a privilege to contribute to this strategic programme, which will strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy. Leveraging our proven, industry-leading experience in the production of large-scale LEO constellations, we are fully committed to delivering this critical first layer,” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
The signature took place in the framework of the International Space Summit, held in Paris, France, on 9th and 10th of September.
