Poland has formalised its participation in Europe’s IRIS2 secure communications constellation and agreed to increase its contribution by more than €150 million. The additional funding will double Poland’s contribution to the programme’s space segment to 12 satellites, comprising six in medium Earth orbit (MEO) and six in low Earth orbit (LEO).
The agreement, signed on 21 July, formalises a €656.3 million Polish contribution to IRIS2. The funding will support the development of the 12 satellites and the construction of a ground station in Warsaw, which will connect the satellites to the government’s GovNet fibre-optic network. The funding is provided through the country’s National Reconstruction Plan.
“This is an investment in security that will pay off for years to come. With this project, we are also demonstrating that Poland aims to be a leader in the European space industry and remain at the center of European Union security efforts,” said Poland’s Minister of the Interior Marcin Kierwiński.
In September 2025, the Polish government announced that it would contribute up to €500 million to the European Union’s IRIS2 programme. This was expected to fund the development of six MEO satellites and the construction of the ground facility. A European Commission proposal published on 20 May explained that Poland had freed up funding through reductions elsewhere in its recovery plan to increase its contributions to IRIS2 and the country’s Security and Defence Fund. It also specified Poland’s exact contribution as €656,326,691.
Alongside its agreement with the European Commission, Poland also signed separate memoranda of understanding with SES and Eutelsat, two of the three companies leading the SpaceRISE consortium selected to develop the IRIS2 constellation. Neither the government nor the Polish Space Agency’s press announcements outlines what the memoranda cover.
The European Commission announced its selection of the SpaceRISE consortium in December 2024. The consortium, led by SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat, has been tasked with building the primary 290-satellite constellation. The €10.55 billion agreement includes a €6 billion contribution from the EU, €4 billion from the consortium partners themselves, and €550 million from the European Space Agency. As a result, Poland’s finalised contribution accounts for approximately ten percent of the total public contribution to the initiative.
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