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• Dirk Andrei Salcedo
Telesat has won a roughly $1.6 billion-to-$1.9 billion Canadian defense contract to provide secure Arctic communications and add 69 satellites to its Lightspeed constellation. Separately, Bombardier is considering acquisitions and new facilities to expand aircraft production, maintenance and GlobalEye AEW&C modification capacity amid strong demand.
Space Defense & Militarization
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Telesat has won a roughly $1.6 billion-to-$1.9 billion Canadian defense contract to provide secure Arctic communications and add 69 satellites to its Lightspeed constellation. Separately, Bombardier is considering acquisitions and new facilities to expand aircraft production, maintenance and GlobalEye AEW&C modification capacity amid strong demand.
An increasingly competitive market is forming around in-orbit propulsion, a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly. Growing defense demand is creating new commercial opportunities for propulsion technologies that can extend satellite maneuverability and expand the operational utility of space assets after launch.
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Rocket Lab has secured its largest-ever contract, a $266 million multi-launch agreement with the U.S. Space Force for suborbital missile-defense launches, alongside a separate deal for three dedicated Electron missions for Japan’s iQPS. The agreements reinforce its push to challenge larger launch providers, including SpaceX.
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Canada’s Defence Investment Agency awarded Telesat a $1.9 billion service contract and MDA Space a separate $474 million contract to expand the Telesat Lightspeed constellation with 69 additional Ka-band satellites for Arctic security connectivity. The deal increases network capacity by 44%, with most Telesat payments due between 2026 and 2028.
K2 has been selected to test satellite-to-satellite optical communications for the U.S. Space Force, a technology central to planned missile-warning and tracking networks. The capability is also expected to support the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
True Anomaly said it became the first company to conduct an in-space pursuit of an evading target, as part of VICTUS HAZE. The U.S. Space Force mission is intended to demonstrate operational capabilities for tracking and pursuing maneuvering objects in orbit.
Hisdesat selected Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to build SpainSat NG-III, while Eutelsat and Poland advanced cooperation on Europe’s IRIS² secure communications program. Separately, SES agreed to support Starlab’s commercial space station and provide multi-orbit connectivity across LATAM Airlines’ Airbus and Embraer fleet.
Earth observation companies increasingly present defense and security applications as a second market alongside climate and commercial work. But framing the capability as “dual-use” may leave governments controlling when and how it is deployed—potentially pushing commercial customers behind state priorities when strategic demands intensify.
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