IRIS² Contracts: Europe Commits €15.6 Billion and Names Its Satellite Builders

The first large IRIS² contracts were signed between late August and mid-September 2026, after the European Union agreed a bigger and more expensive version of the programme. IRIS² stands for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite. It is the EU’s third flagship space programme after Galileo and Copernicus, and it is meant to give European governments and militaries a communications network they control. This analysis covers what was agreed, who won the work, how the money is split and what it means for satellite manufacturers and operators. It is part of the Kurums Space Economy hub.

What was agreed for IRIS² in August 2026?

On 7 August 2026 the European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium signed an implementation agreement that moves IRIS² into full-scale deployment. The main constellation expands to 348 satellites and the first launches are scheduled for 2029.

Negotiations on cost, schedule and performance had begun in January 2026, according to the Commission, and industry reporting through the spring described repeated delays to a decision. The outcome is a larger system than the one contracted in December 2024, which had 290 satellites. The new architecture has 330 satellites in a higher low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit. Of the 330, 264 carry dual military Ka-band and Ku-band payloads and 66 carry military Ka-band only. Payload reported that the plan also includes 20 satellites in very low Earth orbit on top of the 348.

The Commission said the redesign increases secure governmental capacity by 60% within the EU and 54% worldwide. Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, said the agreement was about “accelerating the delivery of early defence and secure services”. The shift in emphasis is plain. IRIS² began as a mixed civil and governmental broadband project. The August version is described first as defence infrastructure.

How much will IRIS² cost, and who is paying?

Planned investment is about €15.6 billion, up from €10.55 billion when the concession was signed in December 2024. European Spaceflight reported that €11.6 billion is public funding from the Commission and ESA and about €4 billion is private investment from the SpaceRISE operators.

The private commitments reported by European Spaceflight and Payload are €2.23 billion from Eutelsat for the low Earth orbit segment, up to €1.35 billion from SES for the medium Earth orbit segment and €600 million from Hispasat. Payload also reported that Hispasat is prime contractor for a ground network worth more than €1.6 billion, and that individual member states have made contributions inside the public envelope: €2 billion from Spain, €656 million from Poland and €500 million from Hungary.

The budget increase is close to 48% in under two years. Part of that reflects more satellites and stronger security features. Part reflects a harder look at what the original design could deliver. For a CFO reading this as a procurement case study, the notable feature is the structure: a public-private concession in which operators put in equity-like commitments and in return receive commercial rights to capacity. SES, for example, will be able to sell about 90% of the capacity on the MEO satellites it finances, according to Via Satellite.

Which companies won the IRIS² contracts?

Four manufacturers hold the main IRIS² contracts announced so far. Aerospacelab builds 264 low-orbit platforms, Thales Alenia Space supplies governmental payloads for all 330 low-orbit satellites, Airbus builds 66 satellites and OHB builds the 18 medium-orbit platforms.

The OHB award came first. On 31 August 2026 SES announced a contract worth nearly €1 billion, about $1.16 billion, for the development and production of 18 MEO satellite platforms. Via Satellite reported that each satellite will have a launch mass of about 2.6 tonnes and roughly 15 kilowatts of power, with the first launch planned for 2029 and initial services in 2030.

The Eutelsat awards were announced on 10 September at the International Space Summit in Paris. Aerospacelab, a Belgian small-satellite manufacturer, received a €2.4 billion contract to design, build and deliver 264 platforms with dual Ku-band and Ka-band communications payloads, with launches expected in 2030. Thales Alenia Space received an initial order of about €500 million for governmental communications payloads across all 330 satellites, in a contract expected to exceed €3 billion in total. European Spaceflight put the combined value of those two awards at more than €5.4 billion. Airbus Defence and Space was selected to build and integrate at least 66 satellites carrying Thales Alenia Space Ka-band payloads, for delivery in 2029. The value of the Airbus work has not been disclosed.

Why does the Aerospacelab award stand out?

Aerospacelab is the least established of the four winners, yet it received the largest single platform order: 264 satellites for €2.4 billion. That works out at roughly €9 million per platform including payload, a price point associated with series production.

The other three suppliers are long-standing primes. Airbus will use the Toulouse line that already builds OneWeb satellites for Eutelsat. Thales Alenia Space and OHB are established institutional suppliers. Aerospacelab, by contrast, built its business on small satellites and vertical integration, in a similar spirit to the manufacturers profiled in our ICEYE company story and Rocket Lab company story.

For founders, this is the commercially interesting part of the story. A younger European manufacturer has been trusted with four fifths of the low-orbit platforms in a sovereign defence programme. It suggests that European institutions are now willing to buy from newer suppliers when the volume requires factory-style production. It also concentrates risk. Delivering 264 platforms for launches expected in 2030 is a production ramp that few European companies of any age have attempted.

What do Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat get out of it?

The three operators get new fleets that are largely financed with public money, anchor government demand and the right to sell commercial capacity. In exchange they commit about €4 billion and carry delivery risk as the concession holders.

For Eutelsat, IRIS² is in effect the successor to its OneWeb low-orbit network. It commits €2.23 billion and places the manufacturing orders for the low-orbit layer. For SES, the 18 MEO satellites extend the medium-orbit strategy it already runs commercially, with roughly 90% of the capacity available to sell. Hispasat takes the ground segment.

The stock market has not treated the news as a clear positive. A weekly industry recap by Cyclop SpaceTech recorded declines of 10.9% for Eutelsat and 6.8% for SES in the week of 28 September to 4 October 2026, the week SpaceX flew Starship to orbit with Starlink V3 satellites. Investors appear to be weighing a 2029 to 2030 service date against a competitor whose economics we set out in our analysis of the first SpaceX earnings report. Starlink reported 12 million subscribers and $1.8 billion of quarterly enterprise and government revenue while IRIS² was still signing its manufacturing contracts.

How does IRIS² compare with Starlink and other constellations?

IRIS² is small by commercial standards. It will have 348 satellites, against a Starlink fleet that numbers in the thousands. It is designed for secure government capacity and sovereignty, not for mass-market consumer broadband.

The comparison that matters is with government demand. The US military is buying dedicated constellations and launches at scale, as we describe in our article on NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 and the $1.6 billion SpaceX launch award. European governments currently rely on a mix of national military satellites and commercial services, including Starlink. IRIS² is the attempt to close that gap with a system whose manufacturing, operation and encryption stay under European control.

The multi-orbit design is a deliberate difference. Medium-orbit satellites cover large areas with few spacecraft, and the low-orbit layer adds low latency. The 66 satellites that Airbus will build form what Airbus calls the first layer, delivering military Ka-band capacity from 2029. That phasing gives governments an early service before the larger 264-satellite layer arrives. Background on how the leading commercial network was built is in our Starlink business story.

Who launches IRIS², and what does it mean for European rockets?

The first launches are planned for 2029 on a European launcher, according to Payload. No launch contracts have been announced. With 330 low-orbit satellites and 18 heavier medium-orbit satellites, the programme is the largest institutional launch demand Europe has on its books.

The 18 MEO satellites weigh about 2.6 tonnes each, which points to Ariane 6. The low-orbit satellites could fly in batches on Ariane 6 or on smaller European vehicles as they mature. That matters for the companies competing in the European Launcher Challenge and for newcomers such as the one covered in Isar Aerospace reaching orbit with Spectrum. A constellation with a European-launcher preference is a rare source of guaranteed demand.

There is a tension between schedule and preference. Ariane 6 capacity is already committed to other customers, including Amazon Leo, which had an Arianespace launch of 36 satellites scheduled for June 2026 according to Fierce Network. If European launch capacity is short in 2029 and 2030, the programme will face the same choice other European institutions have faced: wait, or buy launches abroad. Our article on NASA adding New Glenn 9×4 to its launch contract shows how the US is trying to widen its own supply for similar reasons.

What are the main risks for the programme?

The main risks are schedule, cost growth, industrial ramp-up and the pace of the competition. The budget has already risen 48% and the service date sits three to four years away, in a market that changes every quarter.

Schedule comes first. Deliveries in 2029 and launches in 2029 and 2030 leave little margin for a system whose manufacturing contracts were signed in September 2026. Cost is second. The public share is fixed in budgets that must still be honoured across EU financial periods, and the private partners are listed companies with their own balance-sheet limits. Third is the ramp at Aerospacelab and across the payload supply chain.

There are also small inconsistencies in public figures that suggest details are still settling. The Commission counts 348 satellites, while European Spaceflight noted that Hispasat cited 342. The private commitments published by the operators add up to slightly more than the €4 billion headline. None of this is unusual at this stage, but anyone building a business case on IRIS² should work from signed contract values, not programme-level totals.

What should operators and suppliers watch next?

Watch for launch contracts, the Airbus contract value, tier-two supplier awards and the first design reviews. Those will show whether the 2029 date is realistic and where the remaining money will be spent.

Three milestones are worth tracking. The first is launch procurement, which will reveal how strictly the European preference is applied. The second is the ground segment led by Hispasat, worth more than €1.6 billion according to Payload, where many smaller companies can compete. The third is the next EU budget cycle, since most of the €11.6 billion public share has to be paid out during the build years.

For a wider view of who is raising money and winning work in the sector, see the space funding rounds archive and our earlier report on the ESA contract for The Exploration Company’s Nyx cargo vehicle, another case of European institutions buying from a younger supplier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• European Commission: European Union is accelerating and reinforcing IRIS²
• European Spaceflight: IRIS² gets green light with more money and more satellites
• European Spaceflight: Aerospacelab, Thales Alenia Space secure €5.4 billion in IRIS² contracts
• Airbus: Airbus starts the development of IRIS² satellites on behalf of Eutelsat
• Via Satellite: OHB to build 18 MEO satellites for IRIS² in nearly €1B award
• Payload: Europe’s IRIS² constellation enters the build phase
• Fierce Network: FCC waives Amazon Leo July 2026 deployment deadline
• Cyclop SpaceTech: weekly recap, 28 September to 4 October 2026