Eutelsat orders 229 more OneWeb satellites alongside 5.4 billion euro IRIS2 deals
Aerospacelab · Thales Alenia Space · Airbus Defence and Space · Eutelsat
Per European Spaceflight: Eutelsat awarded 5.4 billion euros in IRIS2 deals and separately ordered 229 more OneWeb refresh satellites.
what happened
Eutelsat, leading the SpaceRISE consortium, awarded Aerospacelab a 2.4 billion euro contract to design, build and deliver 264 of IRIS2's 330 LEO satellite platforms with dual Ku/Ka-band payloads, targeting launches from 2030, per European Spaceflight. Airbus Defence and Space won a separate, undisclosed-value contract to build 66 LEO platforms with Ka-band payloads for delivery starting 2029, and Thales Alenia Space signed an initial order worth about 500 million euros, expected to exceed 3 billion euros in total, to supply governmental communications payloads for all 330 LEO satellites. Reuters reported the Aerospacelab figure independently, citing the company as saying the deal is the largest in its history and gives it responsibility for 76% of the 348-satellite constellation. In a separate order the same day, Eutelsat also authorized Airbus to build 229 more OneWeb refresh satellites for service continuity, taking Airbus's total OneWeb refresh order to 669 satellites after two earlier orders in late 2024 and early 2026, an estimated 1 billion euro investment, per Via Satellite. Eutelsat said the first satellites from its existing 440-satellite order are due for delivery next quarter, and it secured two dedicated Ariane 64 launches for the OneWeb deployment in 2027 and 2028.
why it matters
The awards lock in Europe's IRIS2 secure-connectivity constellation's LEO manufacturing base and hand Belgium's Aerospacelab, a five-year-old satellite maker, its largest contract to date, elevating it alongside established primes Airbus and Thales Alenia Space. The same-day OneWeb replenishment order shows Eutelsat committing fresh capital to keep its existing LEO constellation serviceable even as it builds out IRIS2, together signaling where several billion euros of European government and commercial satellite spending will flow over the rest of the decade.
for who
European satellite manufacturers, IRIS2 subcontractors
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Aerospacelab, Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat
- Category
- contract
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-09-10
- Published
- 2026-09-10 17:31 UTC