Brussels, 16 December 2024
The EU Commission has signed the concession contract for the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²), a multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellite, with the SpaceRISE consortium. This partnership will develop, deploy, and operate the European Union’s new system. It is a significant step towards Europe’s sovereignty and secure connectivity.
IRIS²: secure and advanced satellite connectivity
IRIS² represents the European Union’s third flagship programme, designed to address pressing long-term challenges in security, safety, and resilience. By offering advanced connectivity services to governmental users and bridging connectivity gaps across the Union, IRIS² underpins Europe’s strategic autonomy and technological leadership.
The IRIS² system will leverage the unique advantages of both Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. This cutting-edge constellation will provide:
- Secure connectivity services for EU Member States and governmental authorities.
- High-speed broadband for private companies and European citizens, including coverage in connectivity-deprived zones.
SpaceRISE Consortium: Pan-European Collaboration
The SpaceRISE consortium, entrusted with the implementation of this ambitious project, includes three leading European satellite network operators—SES SA, Eutelsat SA, and Hispasat S.A.—supported by a core team of European subcontractors from the satcom ecosystem. Key partners include Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defence and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat, and Thales SIX.
This collaboration emphasises a commitment to competitiveness and innovation, ensuring that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and new market entrants have opportunities within the supply chain.
A Public-Private Partnership for a Connected Future
The 12-year concession contract establishes a robust public-private partnership to enable both governmental and commercial connectivity services by 2030. Key features include:
- The European Union serving as the anchor customer for services.
- Funding sourced from public investments by the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA), alongside private investments from the SpaceRISE consortium.
To ensure financial sustainability, the Commission will make initial budgetary commitments under the current multiannual financial framework. Future funding beyond 2027 will be subject to the adoption of successor programmes by the European Parliament and Council alongside the availability of appropriations.
Driving Europe’s Connectivity Goals
With IRIS², the European Union is solidifying its position as a global leader in secure satellite connectivity, ensuring resilience in the face of emerging challenges. This programme not only addresses today’s connectivity needs but also lays the groundwork for Europe’s strategic autonomy in a digitalised world.
For more information:
- IRIS² | Secure Connectivity – European Commission
- Regulation (EU) 2023/588 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2023 establishing the Union Secure Connectivity Programme for the period 2023-2027
Quote(s)
IRIS² is not just a technological achievement—it is a testament to Europe’s ambition and unity. This cutting-edge constellation will protect our critical infrastructures, connect our most remote areas and increase Europe’s strategic autonomy. By partnering with the SpaceRISE consortium, we are demonstrating the power of public-private collaboration to drive innovation and deliver tangible benefits to all Europeans.
Today we are not just launching a satellite project. We are launching a vision – a vision of a stronger, more connected, and more resilient Europe. IRIS² demonstrates the Union’s resolve and commitment to strengthening Europe’s space global posture both in terms of security and competitiveness to the benefit of our governments, businesses and citizens.
Source – EU Commission
Opening Statement by EU Commissioner Andrius Kubilius during Signature Ceremony for the EU IRIS² Concession
Brussels, 16 December 2024
“Check against delivery”
Excellencies,
Director General,
Leaders of Europe‘s space community,
Leaders from business,
As Europe‘s first ever Commissioner for Defence and Space, it is an honour to be here with you to celebrate IRIS², a new EU flagship, alongside Galileo and Copernicus. If Galileo is our positioning and timing from space and Copernicus our eye from space, IRIS² will connect us from space – to every corner of Europe and the world.
IRIS² will be vital for our security and defence. I have just returned from Ukraine. I was there last week. We live in dangerous times.
My thoughts are also this morning with our fellow citizens of Mayotte and with our colleagues of the French civil and military emergency rescue services following the devastating passage of cyclone Chido. We live in uncertain times.
And that is my lens for looking at our celebrations today. We are under threat. Our connectivity communications are under threat. Internet cables have been cut in the Baltic, Russia is jamming our navigation signals. The first thing Russia attacked, one hour before the full-scale invasion, was a satcom satellite operated from Europe in a sophisticated cyberattack.
IRIS² will give us the ability to connect even in a hostile environment, to keep communication lines open despite jamming by hostile forces, interference or cyber attacks. IRIS² will provide concrete services to the European Union and Member States, for diplomatic and security communities, for emergency responders. IRIS² will be our lifeline from space to protect Europe‘s security, society and economy.
And today with this signing ceremony we take the next big step to turn IRIS² from a legal reality into an operational reality.
IRIS² is not only a major step forward for our security. It is also a completely new way of working in space, a true paradigm shift in three ways.
First, in our partnership with the private sector, the SpaceRISE consortium. I am glad to have you on board, and here with us today. Thanks to our private partners we will be able to bring real social and economic benefits, peacetime benefits: reducing the digital divide, bringing broadband Internet to every corner of Europe. Our private partners have made very significant investments to make this happen. To our private partners I say: You can count on us. The European Union is an anchor customer, bringing trust and confidence in a satcom market hit by major disruption.
A second paradigm shift is the way public actors work together. Inside the Commission we‘ve maximised synergies between IRIS² and the EuroQCI – the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure. Supporting the goals of our Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, allowing us to bring Internet connectivity to sub-Saharan Africa, sending a vital message of solidarity: Russian paramilitaries bring suffering to Africa. We will be offering broadband Internet to support societies.
And for the very first time ever w have worked with an integrated project team. The cumulative funding from EU and European Space Agency demands a tight-knit integrated setup, breaking down walls and bureaucratic boundaries.
We have everyone working together under one roof: colleagues from the Commission, from the European Space Agency and from the EU Agency for the Space Programme. All working towards one goal. Fast, efficient, and avoiding double work.
Today I thank everyone in this team. Thank you for your efforts in the last two years. Thank you for setting a new gold standard in cooperation.
Finally, IRIS² is a paradigm shift for defence in Europe. The Commission tabled the proposal on 15 February 2022, about a week before Russia‘s full-scale invasion. We shaped the legislation in the turmoil of war to the echoes of the atrocities perpetrated at our doorstep, in our neighbours‘ houses.
For the very first time, our space programme will explicitly contribute to the defence needs of our Member States. Our Member States depend on secure connectivity. Soldiers’ lives will depend on secure connectivity.
In times of crisis, we cannot afford to be too dependent on countries or companies from outside the European Union. The evacuation of Kabul taught us that. IRIS² will bring us the resilience and autonomy we so badly need.
In times of war, we cannot afford to lose connectivity. Ukraine teaches us that tragic lesson every day. In Ukraine on the battlefield when connectivity fails, lives are lost. In Ukraine, when Russian forces disrupt Ukrainian signals, Ukrainian soldiers die, civilians die – men, women and children.
Secure connectivity saves lives – also in peacetime. When there are fires, floods, disasters, IRIS² will save lives and we can be proud of that.
Today we launch the project. But we are still far, from launching the satellites. So today let‘s have a moment of celebration. We deserve it.
And tomorrow let‘s get to work. We need to pick up the pace. We need to get the system up and running, as soon as possible.
Our Member States want the services they need. Our private partners want return on investment. We all need the security IRIS² will bring. We need all of you here to make the system work.
We must mobilise the whole European supply chain as fast as possible, as widely as possible.
The big companies – the large system integrators – will be key to success, and we need our Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We need their agility and power to innovate.
To our space industry I say: This is your moment, the moment to put IRIS² into action, to prove your technological prowess, your skill and capabilities.
I know the past year has been exhausting for all of us: Co-legislators, Commission, European Space Agency, EUSPA, private partners and industry. I thank everyone for their commitment to making this project a success.
My special thanks go to my services for the very close hands-on supervision, especially to my Director General, Timo Pesonen, for Director Catherine Kavvada, and their teams.
Today, we are not just launching a satellite project. We are launching a vision – a vision of a stronger, more connected, and more resilient Europe.
In doing so, we are not reaching for the stars, but securing our future here on Earth.
Thank you for your job and for your attention!
Source – EU Commission