SES has tapped Germany’s OHB to build 18 satellites for the medium-Earth-orbit layer of IRIS2, Europe’s secure communications network, in a deal worth nearly €1B, or about $1.1B. It is the first major industrial order announced under the program.
IRIS2 is the EU’s bid to keep government and military traffic off networks run by outside powers. The constellation will serve defense users, police and emergency services, and the MEO slice is the one managed by SES, which builds the system through the SpaceRise consortium alongside Eutelsat and Spain’s Hispasat.
The order follows the EU’s $18B implementation agreement with SpaceRise in early August, which locked in a fleet of at least 348 satellites across orbital layers. OHB chief executive Marco Fuchs expects more contracts as the program shifts from planning into production.
Fuchs points to the war in Ukraine as the reason Europe is spending on resilience. Satellite links carried much of Kyiv’s military and civilian traffic, mostly through SpaceX’s Starlink, and officials want alternatives to relying on a single provider. IRIS2’s first launches are set for 2029.
