In 2016, Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb founded a joint venture called Airbus OneWeb Satellites to build what was then a constellation of 900 satellites for the OneWeb low Earth orbit megaconstellation. The joint venture built more than 600 OneWeb satellites that are currently in orbit. In September 2023, Eutelsat completed its acquisition of OneWeb, and in January 2024, Airbus purchased OneWeb’s share in Airbus OneWeb Satellites from Eutelsat.
On 17 December 2024, Eutelsat awarded Airbus the first contract under the new structure, agreeing to purchase 100 satellites, with production expected to begin in early 2026 and deliveries slated to start by the end of that year. On 12 January 2026, Eutelsat expanded that initial order by a further 340 satellites, bringing the total to 440, with deliveries still expected to begin before the end of 2026.
“We are pleased to rely on our long-standing partner, Airbus, for the procurement of these latest satellites,” said Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher. “They ensure service continuity for the growing number of our customers and distribution partners, benefiting from the unparalleled performance of our ubiquitous, low-latency LEO capacity.”
According to Airbus, the new satellites will integrate technology upgrades that will enable greater efficiency and flexibility. The satellites will be manufactured at the company’s Toulouse facility on a newly installed production line. The satellites were previously manufactured at a facility in Merritt Island, Florida.
The announcement also marks Eutelsat’s first major industrial contract since the company completed its €1.5 billion capital raise. The order signals an early move to convert the newly secured funding into concrete procurement decisions in support of Eutelsat’s planned expansion of its low Earth orbit offering, including its involvement with the European Union’s IRIS2 secure communications constellation.
The European Commission awarded the contract to build its IRIS2 satellite communications constellation to the SpaceRISE consortium in October 2024. The consortium comprises European satellite operators Eutelsat, SES, and Hispasat.
During an 8 January press conference, the European Space Agency, which is managing the implementation of the programme, announced that the IRIS2 project’s System Requirements Review had been successfully completed at the end of last year. ESA is now conducting the Service Review, which will define the scope, performance, and operational framework of the service to be delivered. This review is expected to be completed by the end of January.
Keep European Spaceflight Independent
Your donation will help European Spaceflight to continue digging into the stories others miss. Every euro keeps our reporting alive.
