On Monday 16 December, the European Commission signed a concession contract for the EU’s secure connectivity programme, Iris² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), with the SpaceRISE consortium.
“Our connectivity communications are under threat. Iris² will give us the ability to connect even in a hostile environment, providing concrete services to the EU and the Member States”, including the connection of key infrastructures, crisis management and surveillance, emphasised the Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, at the signing ceremony. “In times of crisis, we cannot afford to be too dependent on countries or companies from outside the EU”, he said.
Iris², the EU’s third flagship programme after Galileo and Copernicus, will be a multi-orbital constellation of several hundred satellites. 264 satellites will be placed in low orbit and 18 in medium orbit. “Placing interlinked satellites into these different orbits will enable the constellation to communicate securely and quickly and remain constantly connected without needing thousands of satellites”, according to the European Space Agency, which will monitor the design, development and verification activities of SpaceRISE and contribute to the development and validation of the EU’s secure governmental connectivity infrastructure.
The constellation will provide secure connectivity services for Member States and government authorities, as well as broadband access for private businesses and European citizens. Iris² will be open to third countries, subject to the signature of an International Agreement. “The EU Council has already approved the mandates for Norway and Iceland. These two countries will be taking part, and we hope that others will follow”, explained a European source.
The call for tenders for Iris² was launched in March 2023. “This is not only a major step forward for our security, but also a new way of working, a new paradigm shift, in partnership with the private sector”, said Mr Kubilius.
The 12-year concession contract establishes a public-private partnership to provide governmental and commercial connectivity services by 2030. The budget is €10.6 billion, including €6 billion from the EU budget, €550 million from the European Space Agency and €4.1 billion from the European operators SES SA, Eutelsat SA and Hispasat SA, part of the SpaceRISE consortium.
After this signature, the constellation design phase should take a year (in 2025), followed by validation between 2026 and 2028. The first satellite is due to be launched in mid-2029, and the aim is for all satellites to be launched by the end of 2030.
From 2025, the European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programme, which will provide secure, resilient and cost-effective satellite communications capacity, will provide initial services via the satellites of five Member States (France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Greece). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)