OHB Secures €1 Billion Contract for IRIS² MEO Backbone
German satellite manufacturer OHB has been tapped by SES to build 18 satellite platforms for the medium Earth orbit segment of the European Union’s IRIS² secure communications constellation.
DATA FEED: INFRASTRUCTURE SECUREMENT
Satellite operator SES has officially awarded German aerospace manufacturer OHB a contract valued at nearly €1 billion. The deal covers the development and production of 18 satellite platforms intended for the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) component of the European Union’s IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) program.
According to European Spaceflight, this agreement marks the first significant industrial contract signed since IRIS² transitioned into its formal implementation phase earlier this month. The project, which carries a total projected cost of €15.6 billion, aims to establish a sovereign, secure communications network for European government and commercial interests.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Under the terms of the agreement, OHB is responsible for the full manufacturing cycle of the MEO segment's hardware. Each individual satellite platform is designed with a launch mass of approximately 2.6 tonnes. These units will serve as the backbone for the constellation’s high-throughput, low-latency data relay capabilities.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
SES leads the industrial charge alongside consortium partners Eutelsat and Hispasat under the SpaceRISE banner. Xavier Bertran, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at SES, characterized the contract as a critical milestone in establishing a resilient infrastructure for the continent. With the hardware manufacturing now locked in, the IRIS² program moves from policy planning to tangible orbital deployment.
Source: European Spaceflight.