/ NEW SPACE INTELLIGENCEBUY ME A COFFEE
majorcontract2026-08-31

OHB wins nearly €1 billion SES contract for IRIS2 satellites

OHB · SES

OHB will build all 18 IRIS2 medium Earth orbit satellite platforms under a contract worth almost €1 billion from SES.

Image: defence-industry.eu
// sources · 2 attached
  1. [1]signals listeuropeanspaceflight.com↗
  2. [2]trade press · corroborationdefence-industry.eu↗

what happened

SES awarded OHB a contract worth almost €1 billion on Aug. 31 to develop and manufacture all 18 satellite platforms for the medium Earth orbit segment of the EU's IRIS2 secure communications constellation. OHB said it is the first major industrial order awarded since IRIS2 entered its implementation phase earlier in August. Each satellite is expected to have a launch mass of about 2.6 tonnes and roughly 15 kilowatts of power, with first launches expected in 2029 and initial services targeted for 2030.

why it matters

The award hands OHB the manufacturing lead on one segment of Europe's flagship sovereign satcom program, alongside Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space's roles elsewhere in the IRIS2 industrial consortium. For SES, it converts the up-to-€1.35 billion MEO capital commitment it confirmed earlier in August into a signed build contract, moving IRIS2 from planning into hardware production.

signal-to-noise

WIDELY REPORTED
4/5
leadtier 3 of 5 on its owncorrob+1 earned from 1 rule
calculation
3base tier 3 from lead source class "whitelist" (Andrew Parsonson (European Spaceflight)) europeanspaceflight.com+12 distinct sources (>=2)
= 4current score, recomputed by the engine on every change
scorer v2how scores work →

quick facts

Companies
OHB, SES
Category
contract
Impact
major
SNR
4 / 5
Event date
2026-08-31
Published
2026-08-31 14:36 UTC
#connectivity#europe#esa

BACK TO THE FEED