This article is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Jul 21, 2026. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
PARIS—The French government has signed an eight-year contract with Eutelsat to assure for Eutelsat OneWeb services to bridge to the European IRIS2 secure satellite communications systems and add capacity.
The so-called Centaure contract signed June 15 at the Eurosatory arms expo here has a maximum ceiling of €350 million ($406 million), with an initial down payment of €138 million for the first four years.
The contract is part of a €1 billion commitment France made last year that could see the partly French-government owned satellite services operator accommodate hosted payloads under the Nexus program. The initial contract also provides funds to enhance OneWeb’s security features.
“France is taking another step forward in the modernization of its military satellite communications capabilities,” said Patrick Pailloux, director general of the French arms procurement agency DGA.
The commercial service is supposed to augment the government-owned Syracuse IV geostationary orbit system, the DGA said. As part of the deal, the French military will get guaranteed and exclusive access to part of OneWeb’s capacity.
Eutelsat is one of the partners that is supposed to help deliver the low-Earth-orbit and medium-Earth-orbit IRIS2 system. France is not the only country looking for national approaches in addition to IRIS2. Germany is seeking to deploy a far more ambitious constellation under a new program, which some European officials are concerned could detract from IRIS2. German officials counter that their military needs are not fully met by the European system.
Related Content
