Airbus, Eutelsat, SES, and Thales Collaborate to Compete for EU’s Iris² Constellation Bid

A consortium of major players in Europe’s space industry, including Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES and Thales Alenia Space, has announced plans to bid on the European Union’s Iris² constellation. The project is a new flagship EU satellite initiative aimed at providing sovereign, secure satellite connectivity to government users for security and defence and economic purposes, as well as bridging the digital divide in Europe. The consortium will create a multi-orbit constellation that is interoperable with the terrestrial ecosystem, and will look at synergies between government and commercial infrastructures. The contract is expected to be valued at €6bn over 12 years.