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EU expands IRIS² secure-connectivity constellation, accelerates launch to 2029

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The European Commission has agreed with an industrial consortium to expand and accelerate IRIS², its sovereign secure-connectivity constellation, with first launches targeted for 2029. Indra’s Hispasat will lead a services contract worth more than €1.6 billion, while total program investment is expected to exceed $18 billion.

Discovered 2026-08-07T03:28:28.880933-07:00 | 2026-08-07T03:28:28.880933-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The EU is increasing IRIS²’s scale and accelerating service availability to 2029, explicitly citing a changing security environment and greater communications capacity needs.
  • Hispasat, operated by Indra, has won the primary-contractor role on a services package valued at more than €1.6 billion, creating a major commercial opportunity in Europe’s sovereign connectivity infrastructure.
  • Expected investment above $18 billion makes IRIS² a significant long-term commitment to European satellite communications, with SES and Eutelsat already completing an implementation milestone.

Reported By

fly-news.es satnews.com numerama.com Aviation24 techbriefs.com science.org
Sources Tracked
18
First Seen
2026-08-07T03:28:28.880933-07:00
Latest Update
2026-08-07T15:28:21.408647-07:00
Coverage
Space

Sources

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